Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Swartland come from
Every fact on the Swartland page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Alderman Harold Cleophas has been executive mayor of Swartland since 2021.
Swartland Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: biography list: '2021 – Present: Executive Mayor of Swartland Municipality' (undated, read 2026-10-18)
As of 21 Apr 2026: IOL reported in April 2026 that Swartland is one of 11 municipalities 'currently under' DA governance. The DA named Harold Cleophas as its Swartland mayoral candidate.
Cape Argus. Published 21 April 2026.
Where to look: DA section (paragraphs 12-13): 'named candidates for 11 municipalities, all currently under its governance', followed by the list
As of 9 Nov 2021: Harold Cleophas was elected in 2021 as a DA PR councillor for Swartland. A PR seat is a seat a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: WC015 - Swartland rows, PR(1) (CLEOPHAS, JOHN HAROLD, Democratic Alliance)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 23 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 2 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). Democratic Alliance: 13 (10 ward, 3 party). African National Congress: 5 (1 ward, 4 party). Freedom Front Plus: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). GOOD: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Patriotic Alliance: 1 (1 ward, 0 party).
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)
The seats now
Who holds the 23 seats now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. How we count: This is our own count, not an official IEC table. We start with the 2021 party seats from the IEC. Then we add the party that last won each ward, in 2021 or in a by-election. Party seats stay with their party, and councillors can't switch parties. So only ward by-elections change these totals. An empty seat is counted with the party that last held it. The IEC lists by-elections on 5 Oct 2022, but it does not show who won them. So any ward that changed hands that day is not counted.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)
What the official records say
Audit result
The Auditor-General gave Swartland a clean audit (unqualified with no findings) for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
Auditor-General of South Africa. Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: 'Audit outcome for 2024-25' box and the change from 2023-24 under it (audit of separate financial statements, finalised by 30 April 2026)
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