2024 Western Cape provincial election

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.

Background
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.

Devolution of policing
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. 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..." 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." 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.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act
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. 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".

Cape independence
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. 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.

Aftermath
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.