It was established after the August 2016 local elections by merging the Ezinqoleni and Hibiscus Coast local municipalities.

The municipal council consists of seventy-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.

Thirty-six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-six wards, while the remaining thirty-five 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 3 August 2016 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of forty-seven seats on the council.

[4][5] Media related to Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality at Wikimedia Commons