Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twelve wards, while the remaining eleven 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 Democratic Alliance (DA) obtained a majority of fourteen seats on the council.
[1] In terms of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution and the judgment of the Constitutional Court in United Democratic Movement v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others, in the period from 8–22 October 2002 councillors had the opportunity to cross the floor to a different political party without losing their seats.
In the Drakenstein council, the single councillor of the Verenigde Gemeenskap Organisasie crossed to the African National Congress.
[5] The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in May 2011 and August 2016.