Prince Albert Local Municipality

Prince Albert
Local municipality
Official seal of Prince Albert
Seal
Location in the Western Cape
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 33°00′S 22°00′E / 33.000°S 22.000°E / -33.000; 22.000
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictCentral Karoo
SeatPrince Albert
Wards4
Government
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorLinda Jaquet (DA)
Area
 • Total
8,153 km2 (3,148 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
17,836
 • Density2.188/km2 (5.666/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2022
 • Black African1.7%
 • Coloured89.5%
 • Indian/Asian0.1%
 • White7.0%
First languages (2011)
 • Afrikaans93.5%
 • English3.6%
 • Other2.9%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeWC052

Prince Albert Municipality (Afrikaans: Prins Albert Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

History

At the end of the apartheid era, the area that is today the Prince Albert Local Municipality formed part of the Central Karoo Regional Services Council (RSC). The town of Prince Albert was governed by a municipal council elected by the white residents, while the coloured residents were governed by a management committee subordinate to the white council. Bitterwater (Leeu-Gamka) was also governed by a management committee subordinate to the RSC.

After the national elections of 1994 a process of local government transformation began, in which negotiations were held between the existing local authorities, political parties, and local community organisations. As a result of these negotiations, in January 1995 the municipality and management committee of Prince Albert were both dissolved and the Prince Albert Transitional Local Council (TLC) was created to replace them. In the same month the Bitterwater management committee was also replaced by the Leeu-Gamka TLC.

The TLCs were initially made up of members nominated by the various parties to the negotiations, until May 1996 when elections were held. At the time of these elections the Central Karoo District Council was established in place of the Central Karoo RSC, and transitional representative councils (TRCs) were elected to represent rural areas outside the TLCs on the District Council. The area that was to become Prince Albert Local Municipality was covered by the Prince Albert TRC.

At the local elections of December 2000 the TLCs and TRC were all dissolved and the Prince Albert Local Municipality was established as a single local authority. At the same election the Central Karoo District Council was dissolved and replaced by the Central Karoo District Municipality.

Demographics

According to the 2022 South African census, the municipality had a population of 17,836, increasing at an average rate of 3.0% annually from 2011. 89.5% of the population identified as "Coloured," with "Whites" at 8.9%. 1.7% of the population identified as "Black African."

Politics

The municipal council consists of ten members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Five councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in five wards, while the remaining 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 4 November 2026 no party obtained a majority of seats.

The following table shows the results of the 2026 election.

PartyWardListTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Patriotic Alliance2,99648.9942,99548.9615
Democratic Alliance2,24136.6512,27537.1934
African National Congress4076.6604096.6911
7 other parties4717.7004387.1600
Total6,115100.0056,117100.00510
Valid votes6,11599.066,11799.24
Invalid/blank votes580.94470.76
Total votes6,173100.006,164100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,73470.688,73470.57

References

  1. ↑ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Prince Albert (Local Municipality, South Africa)". Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  3. ↑ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Prince Albert (Local Municipality, South Africa) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  5. ↑ "Election Result Table for LGE2026 — Prince Albert Local Municipality". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2026-11-10.