2019 Gauteng provincial election

The 2019 Gauteng provincial election was held on 8 May 2019, concurrently with the 2019 South African general election, to elect the 73 members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

2019 Gauteng provincial election

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All 73 seats to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature 37 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Candidate David Makhura Solly Msimanga Mandisa Mashego Party ANC DA EFF Last election 53.59% 30.78% 10.30% Seats before 40 23 8 Seats won 37 20 11 Seat change 3 3 3 Popular vote 2,168,253 1,185,743 634,387 Percentage 50.19% 27.45% 14.69% Swing 3.40% 3.33% 4.39%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   FF+ IFP ACDP Candidate Anton Alberts Bonginkosi Wesley Dhlamini Dulton Adams Party Freedom Front Plus Inkatha Freedom Party African Christian Democratic Party Last election 1.20% 0.78% 0.62% Seats before 1 1 0 Seats won 3 1 1 Seat change 2 0 1 Popular vote 153,844 38,263 30,605 Percentage 3.56% 0.89% 0.71% Swing 2.36% 0.11% 0.09%
Premier before election David Makhura African National Congress Elected Premier David Makhura African National Congress

Incumbent Premier David Makhura led the ruling African National Congress (ANC), with the party attempting to retain its majority status and secure Makhura a second full term in office as premier. The media and political analysts widely expected that the ANC would lose its majority in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, therefore it was considered to be the most hotly-contested province in this election cycle.

The Official Opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) nominated Mayor of Tshwane Solly Msimanga to be its premier candidate. Msimanga was elected Tshwane Mayor in the aftermath of the 2016 South African municipal elections as the ANC had lost its majority in the Tshwane City Council. The DA did also manage to gain control of the City of Johannesburg and Mogale City.^[1][2][3][4]

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which won 8 seats and clinched the title of the third largest party in 2014, was expected to grow in this election, possibly holding the balance of power, if the ANC had lost its majority.^[5][6]

The fourth largest party in the provincial legislature, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), saw Gauteng as a province of significant importance for its election campaign. The party nominated Member of Parliament and advocate Anton Alberts as its premier candidate.^[7][8][9]

The provincial election was won by the ruling ANC, but with a reduced seat total of only 37 seats, the threshold for a majority. The DA underperformed and lost support in this election, losing a total of three seats, which only gave the party 20 seats in the provincial legislature. The EFF grew its support and won three additional seats. The FF+ gained two seats, while the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) retained its sole seat. The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) returned to the provincial legislature by winning one seat.^[10][11]

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	African National Congress	2,168,253	50.19	–3.40	37	–3
	Democratic Alliance	1,185,743	27.45	–3.33	20	–3
	Economic Freedom Fighters	634,387	14.69	+4.39	11	+3
	Freedom Front Plus	153,844	3.56	+2.36	3	+2
	Inkatha Freedom Party	38,263	0.89	+0.11	1	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	30,605	0.71	+0.09	1	+1
	African Transformation Movement	10,861	0.25	New	0	New
	Pan Africanist Congress	10,534	0.24	–0.02	0	0
	Congress of the People	10,197	0.24	–0.25	0	0
	United Democratic Movement	9,267	0.21	–0.23	0	0
	African Independent Congress	9,016	0.21	New	0	New
	Good	8,544	0.20	New	0	New
	Al Jama-ah	7,606	0.18	New	0	New
	Black First Land First	5,773	0.13	New	0	New
	Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party	5,465	0.13	New	0	New
	Azanian People's Organisation	3,516	0.08	–0.04	0	0
	National Freedom Party	3,177	0.07	–0.40	0	0
	Agang South Africa	3,158	0.07	–0.35	0	0
	African People's Convention	3,128	0.07	–0.09	0	0
	African Covenant	2,528	0.06	New	0	New
	Women Forward	2,050	0.05	+0.05	0	0
	Patriotic Alliance	1,773	0.04	0.00	0	0
	Economic Emancipation Forum	1,700	0.04	New	0	New
	Independent Civic Organisation	1,470	0.03	+0.01	0	0
	Alliance for Transformation for All	1,401	0.03	New	0	New
	African Content Movement	1,251	0.03	New	0	New
	National People’s Front	1,125	0.03	New	0	New
	African Renaissance Unity Party	927	0.02	New	0	New
	African Democratic Change	918	0.02	New	0	New
	International Revelation Congress	722	0.02	New	0	New
	Gazankulu Liberation Congress	672	0.02	New	0	New
	Better Residents Association	525	0.01	New	0	New
	Land Party	511	0.01	New	0	New
	Power of Africans Unity	470	0.01	New	0	New
	South African National Congress of Traditional Authorities	367	0.01	New	0	New
	Zenzeleni Progressive Movement	190	0.00	New	0	New
Total		4,319,937	100.00	–	73	0
Valid votes		4,319,937	99.14
Invalid/blank votes		37,411	0.86
Total votes		4,357,348	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,381,220	68.28
Source: Election Resources

References

1. Maimane announces Msimanga as Gauteng Premier candidate, SABC News, 19 August 2018. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
2. DA's Solly Msimanga Gauteng premier candidate for 2019, Mail & Guardian, 19 August 2018. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
3. Solly Msimanga named as DA’s candidate for Gauteng premier. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
4. The DA chooses Solly Msimanga as preferred Gauteng Premier candidate. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
5. Elections 2019: IRR voter survey shows surge in EFF support since 2014. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
6. Is this the 2019 Election result? ANC 61%, DA 19%, EFF 11%, IFP 3% & FF+ 1%. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
7. FFPlus announces Gauteng premier candidate, SABC News, 27 February 2019. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
8. Mirrian, Natasha. 2021: ANC, DA could lose metros, Mail & Guardian, 17 May 2019. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
9. Adv. Anton Alberts, Member of Parliament and chairperson of the FF Plus, was appointed as the party’s premier candidate for Gauteng. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
10. ANC holds on to Gauteng by a whisker. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.
11. ANC holding onto victory in Gauteng, for now. Retrieved on 11 July 2019.