The City of Matlosana Local Municipality is preparing to convene the inaugural meeting of its newly elected 77-seat council on Tuesday, 17 November 2026, following the recent 4 November Local Government Elections.
For the first time since 1995, the municipality faces a hung council after no single political party managed to secure the 39 seats required for an outright majority.
The scheduled sitting aligns with South African municipal law. Under Section 29(2) of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Manager is required to convene the first meeting of a newly elected council within 14 days of the official declaration of results.
With the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) having finalised municipal seat allocations on 8 November 2026, the statutory window to inaugurate the council runs until Sunday, 22 November 2026.
During Tuesday’s inaugural sitting, newly elected ward and proportional representation (PR) councillors will be officially sworn into office.
Immediately following the swearing-in ceremony, the council will proceed to elect its primary office-bearers, including the Speaker of Council, the Executive Mayor, and the Council Whip.
According to the 2026 Matlosana Election Results published on The People’s Register, the incoming council is fragmented across 12 political parties, placing coalition negotiations at the centre of the upcoming meeting.
The African National Congress (ANC) emerged as the largest party with 32 seats, comprising 30 ward seats and two PR seats. However, falling seven seats short of a majority means the ANC must negotiate with smaller parties to retain the Executive Mayoralty.
Inside sources indicate that the ANC is currently engaged in smooth negotiations with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), a potential three-party arrangement that would see them govern the municipality together.
“The coalition talks between the ANC, SACP, and EFF appear to be progressive. They are finding each other. They want to govern together. The ANC wants to take over the position of Executive Mayor,” the source said.
The EFF secured six PR seats without winning a ward, while the SACP captured three seats, giving the potential alliance a combined total of 41 seats—two more than the required threshold.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) secured 20 seats in total, consisting of eight ward seats and 12 PR seats. An alternative opposition bloc led by the DA would require a broad, multi-party agreement to reach the 39-seat mark.
The remainder of the 77-seat council features a diverse mix of smaller parties holding the balance of power.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) won one ward and six PR seats for a total of seven seats, while ActionSA secured three seats.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) earned two PR seats, and five additional parties—the Matlosana Service Delivery Movement (MSDM), Patriotic Alliance (PA), United Africans Transformation (UAT), All Citizens Party (ACP), and People’s Freedom Party (PFP)—claimed one PR seat each.
As the 17 November sitting approaches, political observers and residents alike are watching closely to see which agreements hold when councillors cast their votes for the municipality’s new leadership.
