eNCA MarkData | Understanding overhangs in municipal councils

eNCA MarkData | Understanding overhangs in municipal councils bombeleni_temp Fri, 11/06/2026 - 12:10

IEC Chairperson Mosothi Moepa briefs media at the National Results Operations Centre. Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo

JOHANNESBURG - As the final votes come in, political parties are turning their attention to their seat allocations in municipal councils.

The final allocation of council seats should broadly reflect each party’s share of the vote. But what happens when a party wins more wards than the number of seats it would normally be entitled to under proportional representation?

This is known as an overhang.

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Overhang explained

The number of seats in a council is calculated to reflect the proportional election results. However, a ward seat cannot be taken away from a party that has won it.

This means that if a party wins a large number of wards but receives a smaller overall share of the vote, it could end up with more ward seats than its proportional allocation would ordinarily allow.

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In such cases, the party will not receive any additional councillors from its proportional representation (PR) list until the overhang has been accounted for.

This has happened before in Emfuleni, in the Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging area.

Although the ANC won 38 ward seats, it received only 36% of the overall vote.

Because those ward seats could not be forfeited, the party ended up with two more seats than its proportional allocation allowed, resulting in an overhang of two.

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Consequently, no councillors were elected from the ANC’s proportional representation list.

The DA and EFF each also forfeited a proportional representation councillor to accommodate the ANC’s two-seat overhang.

The allocation is determined through a complex calculation set out in the regulations under the Municipal Electoral Act.