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Who runs Frances Baard?

Patrick Marekwa is (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of Frances Baard, as of 30 Mar 2026. 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 Frances Baard.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Photo: Kimberley · NJR ZA, CC BY-SA 3.0

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.).

Patrick Marekwa is executive mayor of Frances Baard in the draft 2026/27 IDP (the council's development plan) from March 2026. An executive mayor makes many of the council's decisions. A local paper reports he was elected unopposed on 11 July 2025 after acting as executive mayor (standing in for a time). No official or news source states his (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) or the number of (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) each party holds on the council. Ms U. Buda was executive mayor at 30 June 2025, according to the 2025 financial statements. This is a (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.). In 2021, no party won more than half of the 12 seats voters choose directly.

What the sources said, by date

  1. As of 30 Mar 2026

    The district's draft 2026/27 IDP opens with a message by 'Councillor Patrick Marekwa, The Executive Mayor'.

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

    As of 30 Jun 2025

    Ms U Buda was executive mayor of the Frances Baard District council at 30 June 2025. Ms KC Mothibi was 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). This is from the audited financial statements (the accounts, checked by auditors).

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How were the seats split?

Voters choose 12 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 7 of these 12 seats to win more than half of them. No party has that many.

  • ANC6
  • DA2
  • EFF2
  • PA1
  • FF+1

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 7. That is more than half of the seats voters choose directly. Each party shows in its own colour.

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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 Frances Baard district council a clean audit (unqualified with no findings) for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.

This means its accounts and its reports on its work were right, and it followed the key laws.

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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