Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille said on Sunday she would be her party's election candidate for premier in the Western Cape, in a race that will pit her against Helen Zille and Allan Boesak.

"All scientific indications are that there will be no clear winner in the Western Cape," De Lille told a press conference in Cape Town.

"So yes, I will be running against Helen Zille and Allan Boesak, but the electorate will make the decision," she said.

De Lille is also number one on the ID's national list, followed by the party's secretary-general, Haniff Hoosen.

She warned other parties not to play up racial tension in the province as they campaign for the 22 April vote.

"If any party plays the race card we will deal with them. We must unite the Western Cape."

Earlier Sunday, Democratic Alliance leader and Cape Town mayor Helen Zille announced that she would be the party's premier candidate in the province.

Zille said she hoped to wrest control of the province from the African National Congress and make it a showcase of competent DA governance that will impress voters around the country.

Churchman Boesak on Friday announced that he had accepted the nomination for the Congress of the People in the Western Cape.

He was reported to have been the party's second choice. It hoped to nominate Stellenbosch University rector Russel Botman but he decided not to trade academia for politics.

The ANC has yet to announce its candidate in the hotly contested province.

Sapa