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Election day Wed 4 Nov
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Who runs OR Tambo?

Mesuli Ngqondwana (ANC) is (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of OR Tambo, as of 18 Sep 2026. In 2021, the ANC won 18 of the 24 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) voters choose directly in OR Tambo. That is more than half.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Photo: Mthatha · Xufanc, 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.).

Executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions) Mesuli Ngqondwana gave the State of the District Address on 17 September 2026. He was elected to the (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.) on the ANC list in 2021. No current source states his (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) or the full make-up of the district council. This is a district council. In 2021, the ANC won 18 of the 24 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) voters choose directly. The (Local municipality A municipality for a town or rural area outside the metros. There are 205.) send the other members.

What the sources said, by date

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

    (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) Mesuli Ngqondwana is executive mayor of OR Tambo District Municipality.

  2. As of 18 Sep 2026

    Executive Mayor Councillor Ngqondwana gave OR Tambo District Municipality's State of the District Address on 17 September 2026.

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

    As of 9 Nov 2021

    Mesuli Douglas Ngqondwana was elected to the OR Tambo district council on the ANC list in 2021.

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How were the seats split?

Voters choose 24 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 13 of these 24 seats to win more than half of them. The ANC has 18, so it did.

  • ANC18
  • EFF2
  • UDM2
  • ATM1
  • DA1

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 13. 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 OR Tambo 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

In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at the OR Tambo district council is ongoing. It began on 8 December 2021, under section 139(5) and (c) 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 implemented, and the municipality is demonstrating full commitment" FRP is short for financial recovery plan.

Department of Cooperative Governance, 3 July 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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