The 2019 Eastern Cape provincial election was held on 8 May 2019, concurrently with the 2019 South African general election, to elect the 63 members of the

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature The Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of Eastern Cape. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the members of the leading par ...

. The election was won by the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

, the incumbent governing party in the province.

Premier candidates

The

did not announce its premier candidate prior to the election. The incumbent premier

Phumulo Masualle Phumulo Masualle is a South African politician. He was the Premier of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa, following his appointment in 2014. Masualle, member of the African National Congress (ANC) and SA Communist Party (SACP) stalwart, wa ...

was 39th on the ANC's national list for the National Assembly election.

Oscar Mabuyane Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane (born 24 February 1974) is a South African politician who has been serving as the seventh Premier of the Eastern Cape since May 2019. He was previously Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Enviro ...

, the party's incumbent provincial chairperson, was first on the provincial list for the provincial election. After the election, he announced as the party's premier candidate by the party's National Executive Committee. In September 2018, the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, announced its provincial leader,

Nqaba Bhanga Bennet Mzwenqaba Bhanga (born 28 August 1977), known as Nqaba Bhanga, is a South African politician. He is the current Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance (South Africa), Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape and the Leader of th ...

as the party's premier candidate for the provincial election. The

Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and hi ...

did not announce a premier candidate since the party wants to abolish provinces, however, its provincial chairperson Yazini Tetyana was first on the party's list for the election. The

United Democratic Movement The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer (who has since resigned from the UDM), a former African National Congress ...

placed its national chairperson Mncedisi Filtane first on its candidate list. Former DA provincial chairwoman Veliswa Mvenya was chosen as the

African Transformation Movement The African Transformation Movement, popularly known as ATM, is a political party in South Africa. It is led by Vuyolwethu Zungula, leader and party president. It was formed with the backing of the South African Council of Messianic Churches in ...

's premier candidate. On 5 March 2019, the

Freedom Front Plus The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include ab ...

announced their provincial leader Piet Mey as their premier candidate. Congress of the People Member of the Provincial Legislature, Rev. Lievie Sharpley was chosen as COPE's premier candidate.

Results

Aftermath

On 22 May 2019, members of the

were sworn in during the first sitting of the provincial legislature after the election and Oscar Masbuyane was elected as the provincial premier, while Helen Sauls-August was elected speaker with Mlibo Qoboshiyane as deputy speaker.

References

{{Reflist 2019 elections in South Africa