[3] The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[4] The municipal council consists of thirty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.

Eighteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eighteen 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 reduced majority of nineteen seats on the council.

[5] On 31 January 2025, African National Congress councillor Phendukani Mabhida wrote to the regional executive exposing corruption in the Mandeni municipality.

Mandeni was assassinated hours before he was due to appear at a meeting to further address these concerns.