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.).
Mbangiseni Biyela is mayor of Mthonjaneni, as the (Municipality The local government for your area. It looks after local services, such as water, rubbish removal and local roads. There are 257.) said in October 2025. Biyela was elected as an IFP (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) in 2021. The IFP has held a majority since November 2022. It had 15 of 25 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) after June 2024. We found no later change of control. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won more than half of the 25 seats. The IFP won 12. The IFP won three (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) from the ANC in by-elections (a vote to fill one empty ward seat). These were in November 2022, July 2023 and June 2024. A ward is an area with its own councillor.
What the sources said, by date
On the council's website, no date shown
M N Biyela is mayor of Mthonjaneni, according to National Treasury's municipal officials list. P.E. Ntombela is deputy mayor and N.A. Mbatha is speaker.
As of 21 Oct 2025
Mbangiseni Biyela was mayor, a municipal news item dated 21 October 2025 says. It uses the words 'uMhlonishwa uMeya uMbangiseni Biyela'.
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 18 Jul 2024
Cllr M.N. Biyela was mayor and Cllr P.E. Ntombela was deputy mayor, according to the municipality's 2022/23 annual report. Cllr N.A. Mbatha was speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings). The report does not state the parties of these office-bearers. In the 25-seat council, the IFP had 13 seats, the ANC 8, the ACU 1, the EFF 1 and the NFP 1. It says one seat was empty after an ANC councillor resigned.
As of 20 Jun 2024
The IFP won ward 10 from the ANC in a by-election on 19 June 2024. It was the third ward the IFP won from the ANC in Mthonjaneni since 2021. The new seat count in the 25-seat council is IFP 15, ANC 7, Academic Congress Union 1, EFF 1 and NFP 1.
As of 1 Dec 2022
In November 2022 the IFP won ward 5 from the ANC in a by-election. A by-election is a vote to fill one empty ward seat. The council has 25 seats. Now the IFP has 13 seats and the ANC has 9. The NFP, the EFF and the ACU have 1 each. This means the IFP no longer needs a smaller party's support to keep the post of mayor.
As of 9 Nov 2021
In 2021, Mbangiseni Ndabayakhe Biyela and Phumlani Emmanuel Ntombela were elected as IFP PR councillors in Mthonjaneni. A PR councillor is a councillor a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes. Biyela was number 1 on the list and Ntombela was number 2.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 25 (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 13 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 IFP has 15, 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.
- IFP15
- ANC7
- Academic Congress Union1
- EFF1
- National Freedom Party1
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 13. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. 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 Mthonjaneni 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
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Mthonjaneni has 13 (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.