Emalahleni is an isiXhosa word meaning "a place of coal".

[4] The municipal council consists of thirty-four members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.

Seventeen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seventeen wards, while the remaining seventeen are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

In the election of 1 November 2021 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of twenty-eight seats on the council.

[5] The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[6]