Who is the mayor, and which parties run 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.). So the mayor can change between elections.
No (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) has 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.). 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.) led by the ANC has run the council since 31 October 2024. A coalition is a group of parties that run the council together. Babalwa Lobishe (ANC) was elected mayor on that day, with no one standing against her. She stayed in the job after two motions of no confidence in March 2026. A motion of no confidence is a council vote to remove the mayor or speaker. She was still mayor when the council term ended in September 2026.
Oct 2024 to now
Babalwa Lobishe (ANC)Current mayor
Council run by ANC, EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance, Defenders of the People and African Independent Congress. She survived two votes of no confidence in March 2026. With UDM votes, her group has 62 of the 120 seats, Daily Maverick reported in July 2026. That is more than half.
May 2023 to Oct 2024
Gary van Niekerk (Northern Alliance)
Council run by ANC, EFF, PAC, Northern Alliance and African Independent Congress. He resigned on 31 October 2024 and became deputy mayor. His deputy, Babalwa Lobishe, became mayor.
Sep 2022 to May 2023
Retief Odendaal (DA)
Council run by DA, ACDP, FF+, UDM, PAC, African Independent Congress, Abantu Integrity Movement and Northern Alliance. The council removed him by a vote of no confidence on 26 May 2023.
Nov 2021 to Sep 2022
Eugene Johnson (ANC)
Council run by ANC, GOOD, UDM, PAC, Abantu Integrity Movement, Defenders of the People and Northern Alliance. The council removed her by a vote of no confidence on 21 September 2022, by 62 votes to 58.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 120 (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 61 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. No party has that many. So parties must work together to 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.
- ANC48
- DA48
- EFF8
- Northern Alliance3
- ACDP2
- Defenders of the People2
- 7 other parties9
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 61. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the 7 other parties, with 9 seats between them. 2 parties have no colour on record, so they are grey too.
What has the council done?
Tap a topic to see what we checked.
Core servicesWater, lights, rubbish and roads: what your council runs.4 checks
- Council recordNelson Mandela Bay lost 26.81% of the electricity it bought in 2024-25, worth R1.48 billion. Verified
- Council recordNelson Mandela Bay's sewage works did not have operating licences in 2024-25. Verified
- Council recordNelson Mandela Bay lost 52.74% of its water in 2024-25, worth R392.6 million. Verified
- Claim by ANCMayor Babalwa Lobishe (ANC) said about 98% of Nelson Mandela Bay households have access to water. Verified
Housing and landHouses, informal settlements and title deeds.2 checks
Safety and jobsCrime, metro police and work in your area.2 checks
Governance and moneyCorruption, audits and budgets: how your council uses your money.3 checks
- Council recordNelson Mandela Bay got a qualified audit for 2024-25, its second in a row. Verified
- Council recordNational Treasury held back Nelson Mandela Bay's July 2026 equitable share payment for a time. Verified
- Council recordNelson Mandela Bay had R2.08 billion in irregular spending in 2024-25. Verified
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 Nelson Mandela Bay 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
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Nelson Mandela Bay has 60 (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.