The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality council consists of one hundred and twenty members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
In the most recent election on 3 August 2016, the ANC lost its majority and the Democratic Alliance (DA) became the biggest party with 57 seats.
In August 2018, DA councillor Victor Manyati abstained from supporting his party's speaker, Jonathan Lawack.
The DA and its supporters then left the council, and in their absence, the UDM's candidate Mongameli Bobani was elected mayor, with 61 votes in favour and zero against.
The single councillor of the African Transformation Efficiency and Affirmative Movement crossed to the Liberal Party.