[5] At the end of the apartheid era, in the area that is today the Thembelihle Municipality, there were municipal councils for Hopetown and Strydenburg which were elected by the white residents, while the coloured residents of Steynville (Hopetown) and Strydenburg were governed by management committees subordinate to the white councils.

The transitional councils were initially made up of members nominated by the various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when elections were held.

The remainder of the municipality is rural, mostly used for farming of sheep and goats while intensive irrigated agriculture occurs along the Orange River.

The White population of the municipality more than doubled between 2011 and 2022, from 2,055 persons to 4,433, driven primarily by the growth of the Afrikaner town of Orania.

For most of the time since its creation in 2000 Thembelihle has been governed by the African National Congress (ANC), which won outright majorities in the 2000, 2006 and 2011 municipal elections.

The independent, former ANC member Danny Jonas, became the new mayor of the municipality supported by the Congress of the People and the Democratic Alliance.

In the election of 3 August 2016 the ANC regained control of the municipality, winning a majority of four seats on the council.