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Who runs Central Karoo?

Johanna Botha is (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of Central Karoo. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won more than half of the (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) voters choose directly in Central Karoo.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Photo: Central Karoo · flowcomm, CC BY 2.0

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Which party controls the council?

Voters choose the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.). The council chooses the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.).

The Central Karoo (District council A council over several local municipalities. It runs services for the whole area. There are 44. Voters outside the metros also vote for it.) own website lists Johanna Botha as executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions). The page has no clear date, and it does not show Botha's (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.). Gayton McKenzie (PA) was district mayor from 2022 to 2023. He resigned to focus on national politics, Daily Maverick reported in February 2024. We found no official or news source from 2024 to 2026 on the governing (Coalition Parties that agree to run a council together, usually because none has more than half the seats alone. Together they choose the mayor.) or the mayor's party. In 2021, no party won more than half of the 6 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) voters choose directly. The DA won 2. In 2022, the ANC, PA, KGP and KDF formed a coalition (a group of parties that run the council together).

What the sources said, by date

  1. On the council's website, no date shown

    Johanna Botha is listed as executive mayor of the Central Karoo District. Lizel Paulse is listed as speaker (the (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) who chairs council meetings), and Denver Sampie as deputy mayor.

  2. As of 12 Feb 2024

    Gayton McKenzie (PA) was mayor of the Central Karoo District. McKenzie resigned to focus on national politics.

  3. As of 12 Feb 2024

    Gayton McKenzie (PA) was mayor of the Central Karoo District from 2022 to 2023. McKenzie resigned to focus on national politics.

  4. This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.

    As of 7 Apr 2022

    The ANC formed a coalition with the PA, Karoo Gemeenskap Party and Karoo Democratic Force to govern the Central Karoo District.

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How were the seats split?

Voters choose 6 of this (District council A council over several local municipalities. It runs services for the whole area. There are 44. Voters outside the metros also vote for it.) (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) directly. The (Local municipality A municipality for a town or rural area outside the metros. There are 205.) send the other members. A (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs 4 of these 6 seats to win more than half of them. No party has that many.

  • DA2
  • ANC1
  • GOOD1
  • Karoo Democratic Force1
  • PA1

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 4. That is more than half of the seats voters choose directly. Each party shows in its own colour. One party has no colour on record, so it is grey too.

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What has the council done?

We have not checked any claims about this (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) yet. That is not a mark for or against it.

Core servicesWater, lights, rubbish and roads: what your council runs.No checks yet

Housing and landHouses, informal settlements and title deeds.No checks yet

Safety and jobsCrime, metro police and work in your area.No checks yet

Governance and moneyCorruption, audits and budgets: how your council uses your money.No checks yet

What the official records say

From the Auditor-General and the national government. Every council gets the same checks. A council that is not on a list shows no row.

The Auditor-General gave the Central Karoo district council an unqualified audit opinion with findings for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.

This means its accounts were right, but the Auditor-General found other problems, such as broken laws or weak reports on its work.

Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026

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How does voting work here?

You can only vote at the (Voting station The place where you vote, often a school or a hall. You can only vote at the one where you are registered.) where you are (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.).

Pick what matters to you and see which parties promised it, with a link to where it said so.

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