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.
[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.
One councillor from the "Witzenberg Onafhanklike Vereniging" and one from the Pan Africanist Congress also crossed to the ANC.
[7] The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in May 2011 and August 2016.
[9] The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period between the elections in August 2016 and November 2021.