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.).
Sheila Mabale-Huma (ANC) is executive mayor of Rustenburg, as IOL reported in May 2026 and the city's website showed in October 2026. An executive mayor is a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions. Lebogang Pule is speaker. A speaker is 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. We found no source that names the partners in the (Coalition Parties that agree to run a council together, usually because none has more than half the seats alone. Together they choose the mayor.) (a group of (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) that run the council together) now. We also found none that says if they hold a majority. In 2021, no party won more than half of the 90 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.), and none has since. In November 2021, the ANC had 43 seats. It signed coalition agreements with Arona, the African Independent Congress and an independent councillor. This gave the ANC and its partners 46 of the 90 seats. In August 2024, the MK party won a (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) from the ANC. A ward is an area that elects one councillor. This left the ANC with 42 seats.
What the sources said, by date
As of 16 Oct 2026
Rustenburg's website names Councillor Sheila Mabale-Huma as executive mayor. It says Mabale-Huma leads 'on behalf of the ruling party, the African National Congress'.
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 8 May 2026
Sheila Mabale-Huma is the mayor of Rustenburg.
As of 8 May 2026
In May 2026, Rustenburg executive mayor Sheila Mabale-Huma asked for an investigation. The request went to the MEC for cooperative governance. An MEC is a member of the provincial government. The request was about a special council meeting set for 28 April 2026. Speaker Lebogang Pule had cancelled it.
As of 29 Aug 2024
The MK party won Ward 45 from the ANC in an August 2024 by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward seat). After that, the council had the ANC (42 seats), the EFF (17), the DA (13), Tsogang Civic Movement (7) and FF Plus (3). It also had one seat each for MK, Arona, AIC, Forum 4 Service Delivery, ACDP, UDM, Botho Community Movement and an independent. That is 90 seats in total. Daily Maverick wrote that the ANC might need another partner to reach 46.
As of 20 Nov 2021
On 20 November 2021, the ANC signed coalition agreements in Rustenburg with Arona, the African Independent Congress and an independent councillor. This gave the ANC and its partners 46 of the 90 council seats.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 90 (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 46 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.
- ANC42
- EFF17
- DA13
- Tsogang Civic Movement7
- FF+3
- ACDP1
- 6 other parties6
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 46. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the 6 other parties, with 1 seat each. One party has no colour on record, so it is 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 Rustenburg 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
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at Rustenburg in 2024-25, for the third year in a row.
This means there is serious doubt that the council can keep paying its bills and keep working.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Rustenburg has 45 (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)
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