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.).
Nozuko Best (ANC) is executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions). In May 2026, Best was elected ANC West Rand regional treasurer. The ANC has a majority on its own. It won (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) 4 from an independent in a by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.)) on 30 Nov 2022. This gave it 28 of the 55 seats. It still had that majority in November 2025. In 2021, the ANC won 27 of the 55 seats and governed with the AIC.
What the sources said, by date
On the council's website, no date shown
Cllr Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor, according to the (Municipality The local government for your area. It looks after local services, such as water, rubbish removal and local roads. There are 257.) Executive Mayor page.
As of 19 May 2026
Nozuko Best, Merafong City mayor, was elected treasurer of the ANC's West Rand region in May 2026.
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 27 Nov 2025
After the 2021 election the ANC (27 of 55 seats) formed a (Coalition Parties that agree to run a council together, usually because none has more than half the seats alone. Together they choose the mayor.) with the African Independent Congress. A coalition is a group of (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) that run the council together. The ANC won an independent-held seat in 2022. So it went into a November 2025 by-election with a majority on its own. It kept ward 10.
As of 14 Oct 2025
Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor of Merafong City.
As of 24 Sep 2025
Nozuko Best is Merafong's mayor. In September 2025 her office rejected protesters' calls for her resignation.
As of 27 Aug 2025
Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor of Merafong Local Municipality.
As of 1 Dec 2022
The ANC won Merafong ward 4 in Khutsong in a by-election. An independent (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) had held the seat. This gave the ANC 28 of the 55 seats. That is a majority that lets the ANC lead the council without depending on another party.
As of 9 Nov 2021
Nozuko Best was elected to Merafong council in 2021 as an ANC PR councillor. A PR councillor holds a seat that a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 55 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. A (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs 28 seats to run the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) on its own. The ANC has 28, so it can choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) and pass the budget on its own.
- ANC28
- DA9
- EFF9
- FF+4
- Merafong Agents of Change2
- African Independent Congress1
- 2 other parties2
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 28. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the 2 other parties, with 1 seat each. 2 parties have no colour on record, so they are grey too.
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 Merafong City a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
This means some parts of its accounts had big mistakes, or it could not show proof for some amounts.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at Merafong City is ongoing. It began in September 2022, under section 139(5) of the Constitution.
This means the province stepped in because the council was in a serious money crisis. The council must follow a plan to fix its finances (a financial recovery plan).
In May 2025, Parliament's Budget Office described the recovery plan like this: "FRP is under implementation" FRP is short for financial recovery plan.
Department of Cooperative Governance, 3 July 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Merafong City has 28 (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.). 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.
Take the quizFind your town to see your ward, your voting station and every name on your papers.
Or check with the IEC
- Who is my ward councillor now?IEC lookup. Shows your ward and who represents it now. (IEC website)
- Voting station finderIEC map. Find the station where you are registered. (IEC website)
Spotted a mistake? Report a mistake. Every change is logged on the Corrections page.