![\"\"](\"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Municipal-coalitions-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOne metric to measure how (un)successful these agreements have been is the number of mayors each has had in the two-and-a-half years since the local elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data collected by The Outlier shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 34 of the 71 coalition municipalities have stuck with one mayor<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 22 have had two mayors <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- 15 have had three or more mayors, sometimes as many as five<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Coalition-councils-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOf the 15 municipalities that had three or more mayors, four are metros: Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane. These four metros are home to 14-million people, about one-quarter of South Africa’s population. In some of these metros, coalition in-fighting has seen the installation of mayors from significantly smaller parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Mayoral-changes.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn the 15 municipalities, mayors have changed 37 times in total. Almost two-thirds of the removals were because of motions of no confidence. In Tshwane and Beaufort West, all mayors changed because of resignations between November 2021 and June 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Mayor-no-confidence.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen mayors change often, it can lead to unexpected appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three of the 15 municipalities with a high mayoral turnover currently have a mayor whose political party holds 3% or less of the council seats. Two of these municipalities, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, are major metropolitan areas and home to 5-million and 1.2-million people, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/minimal-representation.png\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although coalitions may be relatively new at a national level, local municipalities are all too familiar with the idea of power sharing. Almost one-third of South Africa’s municipalities had no party with an outright majority after the 2021 local government elections so were run by coalition agreements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of the 213 local municipalities and metros,\u00a071 had coalitions. Most of Gauteng’s municipalities were coalitions (89%)\u00a0after the elections,\u00a0as were the Western Cape’s (64%).<\/p>\n
One metric to measure how (un)successful these agreements have been is the number of\u00a0mayors\u00a0each has had in the two-and-a-half years since the local elections.<\/p>\n
Data collected over 2.5 years by The Outlier shows:<\/strong><\/p>\n