The Premier of the Western Cape is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the

Western Cape 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 , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The current Premier of the Western Cape is

Alan Winde Alan Richard Winde (born 18 March 1965) 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 sin ...

, a member of the Democratic Alliance, who was elected in the 2019 election. He took office on 22 May 2019.Winde elected Western Cape premier
Retrieved on 24 June 2019.

Functions

In terms of the provincial constitution, the executive authority of the province is vested in the Premier. The Premier appoints the Provincial Cabinet made up of ten members of the provincial parliament; they are known as Provincial Ministers. The Premier has the ability to appoint and dismiss Provincial Ministers at his/her own discretion. The Premier and the Provincial Cabinet are responsible for implementing provincial legislation, along with any national legislation assigned to the province. They set provincial policy and manage the departments of the provincial government; their actions are subject to the national constitution and the provincial constitution. In order for an act of the provincial parliament to become law, the Premier must sign it. If he/she believes that the act is unconstitutional, it can be referred back to the provincial parliament for reconsideration. If the Premier and the provincial parliament cannot agree, the act must be referred to the Constitutional Court for a final decision. The Premier is also ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' a member of the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...

, the upper house of Parliament, as one of the special delegates from the province.

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

List

Election

The election for the

Western Cape Provincial Parliament 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 Provincial Parliament, along with the other provincial legislatures of South Africa, e ...

is held every five years, simultaneously with the election of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

; the last such election occurred on 8 May 2019. At the first meeting of the provincial parliament after an election, the members choose the Premier from amongst themselves. The provincial parliament can force the Premier to resign by a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. If the Premiership becomes vacant (for whatever reason) the provincial parliament must choose a new Premier to serve out the period until the next election. One person cannot have served more than two five-year terms as Premier; however, when a Premier is chosen to fill a vacancy the time until the next election does not count as a term. The following table details the election results for the Premier on the first sitting of the Sixth Provincial Parliament held on 22 May 2019.

References

External links

Official website
{{Western Cape Province Government of the Western Cape

Functions

List

Election

See also

References

External links