Cape Town - A proud Helen Zille is expected to be sworn in as Premier of the Western Cape this morning, after a heated contest between the Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress for leadership of the province.
Leader of the DA, Ms Zille had aimed to win the majority of the votes in the Western Cape during the 2009 General Election, claiming that her successful reign as Mayor of Cape Town had stood her in good stead.
The DA won 52 percent of the provincial election votes casts. The ANC clinched 33 percent and Cope 7 percent with the other parties taking the rest of votes.
Ms Zille will be sworn in by Justice Janet Traverso at the Western Cape Provincial Legislature at 11am.
A former correspondent in the apartheid years and member of the Black Sash resistance movement, Ms Zille was a finalist in the Woman of the Year Awards in 2003 and named the 2008 World Mayor.
Before becoming Mayor of Cape Town in 2006, she was a member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in 1999. She was the province's Education MEC until 2001 and elected as a Member of Parliament in 2004.
