Politics of the Western Cape

During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia the City of Cape Town lit up the City Hall in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. The Western Cape government's open support for Ukraine was in contrast to the neutral position taken by the South African government and is representative of the province's different political norms.

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.

Election history

In the 2004 provincial election, no party achieved an absolute majority in the province, with the ANC having a plurality of 45% of the votes. In the aftermath of the election, the ANC formed a coalition government with the New National Party (NNP), which won 11% of the vote. During the 2005 floor crossing period all of the NNP members of the Provincial Parliament defected to the ANC, giving the ANC an absolute majority in the provincial parliament. The ANC chose Ebrahim Rasool as Premier; in 2008 he was replaced by Lynne Brown.

The official opposition in the Western Cape after the 2004 provincial election was the Democratic Alliance (DA), which received 27% of the vote in the provincial ballot. The City of Cape Town, the most populous municipality in the province, was governed by a multi-party coalition led by the DA after the 2006 municipal elections. The DA increased its share of the vote during the 2011 municipal elections to 61.09%, giving them a firm majority and allowing them to govern the City of Cape Town without their former coalition partners

In the 2009 provincial election, the ANC was unseated by the DA, which took 51.46% of the vote. This election marked the first time since the end of apartheid that a party scored an overall majority in the province. DA leader Helen Zille replaced Lynne Brown as Premier on 6 May 2009.

In the 2014 provincial election, the DA maintained its hold on the province, increasing its majority to 59.4%, with Helen Zille remaining Premier.

In the 2019 provincial election, the DA won a reduced majority of 55.45%. Alan Winde of the DA replaced Helen Zille as Premier after the election.

In the 2024 provincial election, the DA was reelected for a fourth term in office with a majority of 55.30%, with Alan Winde remaining Premier.

Election results

Main article: 2024 Western Cape provincial election

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

See also

• Cape Independence
• Politics of South Africa
• Government of the Western Cape