Ever wondered how votes cast during Local Government Elections translate into seats in your municipal council?

Here’s how it works:

• Votes cast for political parties and their ward candidates are used to calculate each party’s overall seat entitlement.
• A legislated quota determines how many votes are required for a council seat.
• Any remaining seats are allocated according to the applicable surplus-vote rules.
• Ward seats already won by a party are deducted from its total seat entitlement.
• The remaining seats are filled from the party’s list of candidates, in order of preference.

This process helps ensure that political parties’ representation in municipal councils reflects their electoral support.