Dukwana received 17 votes from 24 which were cast during the election in a secret ballot. He defeated opposition party leader Roy Jankielsohn, who received 7 votes.

A total of 27 of the 30 members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) voted whilst 3 EFF members abstained. 

Two members – including the MEC for Transport William Bulwane and an EFF member – were not present in the House. 

Dukwana's election as the premier comes after ousted premier Sisi Ntombela resigned on Tuesday 21 February 2023 after the ANC PEC, led by Dukwana, redeployed her.

Earlier, the chairperson of the ANC caucus in the Free State Legislature said ANC Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) will today toe the party line and vote accordingly.

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This was ahead of Friday's special council sitting where premier candidate Dukwana was expected to be elected as the Free State's new premier. 

The chairperson of the ANC caucus, Thabo Meeko, said the party had just concluded its caucus meeting at the legislature, housed in the Fourth Raadsaal in Bloemfontein. Meeko said the caucus of the ANC is united and is cohering under the direction of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC), led by premier-elect Dukwana as its chairperson.

"We are united on one principle, the ANC is the centre both in policy and principle. By implementation, we mean people are deployed by the ANC to implement its decisions. So nobody is going to vote based on individual [conscience]. The conditions that will prevail here is the political [conscience] of the ANC that says the ANC is the centre," Meeko added.

It was understood that Dukwana would be uncontested in his quest to become the new premier of the province.

OFM News