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All 42 seats to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament 22 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by municipality
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The 2024 Western Cape provincial election was held on 29 May 2024, concurrently with the 2024 South African general election, to elect the 42 members of the 7th Western Cape Provincial Parliament.
The previous provincial election was won by the ruling Democratic Alliance (DA), but with a reduced majority of 55.45%, down from 59.38% in the 2014 election. The party lost two seats and achieved a majority of 24 seats in the legislature. The Official Opposition African National Congress (ANC) declined from 32.89% to 28.64%, and also lost two seats. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) significantly grew, going from 2.11% to 4.04%, and, consequently, gained one seat. The newly-formed Good received 3.11% of the vote and won a seat. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) grew to 2.66% and retained its sole seat. The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and Al Jama-ah also won one seat each.
Over the last term of government, the devolution of policing power has become a key issue between the Western Cape Government and the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. [1] The Western Cape Government argues that the Minister has the power to devolve policing, but the Minister denies having the power of devolution, saying that "the centralisation of the SAPS [is] in line with the Department [of Police's] constitutional mandate to prevent, combat and investigate crime..." [2] Section 205 of the Constitution of South Africa sets out policing policy in South Africa, noting that the police service "must be structured to function in national [and] provincial...spheres of government." [3] The Constitution gives provincial executives the power to monitor police conduct within their respective provinces, as well as the responsibility for policing functions in three cases; namely Chapter 11 of the Constitution, assigned to provincial government in terms of national legislation and allocated to it in national policing policy. [3]
The Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde and a Western Cape Government delegation made a trip to the United States to detail the possible impact that a loss of preferential access to the U.S. market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act would have on the agricultural industry in the province, largely in response to increased U.S. scrutiny over the South African government's increased military co-operation with Russia and China and potential co-operation with Iran. [4] [5] [6] The Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Cameron Dugmore (ANC) accused the provincial government of wasting taxpayer's money, saying "this trip was about the DA’s desperation to secure support for the 2024 elections by creating a certain narrative about this matter". [7]
The Freedom Front Plus and the Referendum Party contested the election with Cape independence as part of their platform. The Referendum Party was formed in November 2023 as a single-issue political party aiming to pressure the Western Cape Democratic Alliance government into holding a referendum on Western Cape independence as part of any potential coalition agreement. [8] The Cape Independence Party, which had contested in 2009 and 2019, did not make it on to the national ballot or the Western Cape provincial ballot, while the Referendum Party made it on to all three. [9] [10] [11]
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Alliance | 1,088,423 | 55.58 | –0.1 | 24 | 0 | |
| African National Congress | 384,853 | 19.65 | –9.1 | 8 | –4 | |
| Patriotic Alliance | 153,607 | 7.84 | New | 3 | New | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 104,354 | 5.33 | +1.3 | 2 | 0 | |
| National Coloured Congress | 46,770 | 2.39 | New | 1 | New | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 28,471 | 1.45 | -0.1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Al Jama-ah | 25,537 | 1.30 | +1.3 | 1 | 0 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 25,363 | 1.30 | -1.4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Good | 22,207 | 1.13 | -1.9 | 1 | 0 | |
| uMkhonto we Sizwe | 11,263 | 0.58 | New | 0 | New | |
| Rise Mzansi | 9,954 | 0.51 | New | 0 | New | |
| Africa Restoration Alliance | 8,318 | 0.42 | New | 0 | New | |
| Build One South Africa | 8,028 | 0.41 | New | 0 | New | |
| Pan Africanist Congress | 6,151 | 0.31 | +0.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| United Democratic Movement | 5,933 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ActionSA | 5,788 | 0.30 | New | 0 | New | |
| African Transformation Movement | 5,581 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Referendum Party | 5,110 | 0.26 | New | 0 | New | |
| People's Movement for Change | 5,074 | 0.26 | New | 0 | New | |
| Allied Movement for Change | 5,065 | 0.26 | New | 0 | New | |
| Allied of Citizens for Change | 2,430 | 0.12 | New | 0 | New | |
| Total | 1,958,280 | 100.00 | – | 42 | – | |
| Valid votes | 1,958,280 | 99.25 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 14,874 | 0.75 | ||||
| Total votes | 1,973,154 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,317,072 | 59.48 | ||||
| Source: Daily Maverick and News24 | ||||||
The DA retained its majority, while the ANC lost four seats, with the Patriotic Alliance and the National Coloured Congress, both new parties, gaining seats at the expense of the ANC, and other incumbent parties retaining their share of seats from the previous Provincial Parliament. Winde was re-elected premier by a vote of 24-18.
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-eighth Parliament was first convened on 14 June 2024.
The Democratic Alliance is a South African political party which is a part of the current South African Government of National Unity (GNU) together with the African National Congress (ANC), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and several others. The party is broadly centrist, and has been attributed both centre-left and centre-right policies. It is a member of Liberal International and the Africa Liberal Network. The DA traces its roots to the founding of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party in 1959, with many mergers and name changes between that time and the present. The DA has a variety of ideologically liberal tendencies, including neoliberalism, social liberalism, classical liberalism, and conservative liberalism.
The Freedom Front Plus is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Since 2024, it is a part of the current South African government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance and other parties.
Otta Helene Maree, known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she was the Premier of the Western Cape province for two five-year terms, and a member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. She served as Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance from 2007 to 2015 and as Mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009.
The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town.
The politics of the Western Cape differs from that of most other provinces in South Africa, because, unlike the other provinces, the African National Congress (ANC) does not dominate the political landscape. Instead, the province is a stronghold for the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has won a majority of the vote in the province in every national, provincial, and municipal election since 2009. The Western Cape's political landscape is also notable for the presence of a relatively strong local devolution and separatist movement.
The African Independent Congress (AIC) is a minor political party in South Africa.
The nine provinces of South Africa are governed by provincial governments which form the second layer of government, between the national government and the municipalities. The provincial governments are established, and their structure defined, by Chapter Six of the Constitution of South Africa.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a South African political party, formed in November 2013 by, among others, businessmen Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Alan Richard Winde is a South African politician and businessman. He is the 8th and current Premier of the Western Cape, having held the position since 2019. He has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 1999 and belongs to the Democratic Alliance.
The 2019 Western Cape provincial election was held on 8 May 2019 to elect the 6th Western Cape Provincial Parliament. It was the sixth provincial election held since the establishment of the provincial legislature in 1994.
Lennit Hendry Max is a South African politician, advocate and police officer who served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, as Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services (2010–2014), as Member of the National Assembly (2010–2014) and as Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety (2009–2010).
Anton Wilhelm Bredell is a South African politician for the Democratic Alliance. He is the current Western Cape Provincial Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.
General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This was the 7th general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. The new National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature.
Gillion Bosman is a South African politician serving as both the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Social Development and the Petitions Committee in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since June 2019. He became a member of the provincial parliament in May 2019 following the 2019 general election. He had formerly served as a municipal councillor of the City of Cape Town from August 2016 to May 2019. Bosman is a member of the governing Democratic Alliance.
Cape independence, also known by the portmanteau CapeXit, is a political movement that seeks the independence of the Western Cape province from South Africa.
The Executive Council of the Western Cape is the cabinet of the executive branch of the provincial government in the South African province of the Western Cape. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are appointed from among the members of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature by the Premier of the Western Cape, an office held since the 2019 general election by Alan Winde. The council is referred to as the Executive Council in the national Constitution, but is denoted the Provincial Cabinet of the Western Cape in the Western Cape Constitution.
The Referendum Party (RP) is a single-issue political party in South Africa established to compete in the 2024 general election and force the Western Cape premier to call a referendum on Cape independence as its coalition condition. The party was founded in November 2023 in response to Western Cape premier Alan Winde denying the Western Cape a referendum on Cape independence in October 2023.
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