ID leader Patricia de Lille said on Friday she was running for premier of the Western Cape to fight against racism in the province, not to face off against Helen Zille and Allan Boesak.

"It is not going to be a beauty contest between me and Helen Zille and Allan Boesak," De Lille told the Cape Town Press Club.

"This is not about what is in it for me, but about what is in it for the people of the Western Cape. The Western Cape needs to be united."

De Lille said the province remained one of the most deeply divided in the country in terms of race and class.

"One of the main reasons why I accepted is... (that) this province is too divided along racial lines. Politicians in the province have exploited people by playing the race card in order to get votes," she said.

"You just have to drive from the airport to see this. We want to speed up service delivery to all communities not just a few."

The Western Cape is expected to be one of the most hotly contested regions in the country in the 22 April elections.

A lively campaign battle began shaping up last weekend between De Lille, Democratic Alliance leader Zille and the Congress of the People's potential vote-catcher Boesak.

In a speech in Paarl last Sunday, Boesak also listed soothing racial tension in the province with its Coloured population of roughly 1.5 million people as one of his top priorities.

And like De Lille, he said he wanted to fight for marginalised communities in the Cape who feel their plight has been ignored by the African National Congress.

De Lille was scathing about the ANC's potential choice for premier Mcebisi Skwatsha, though the party has yet to say whether he or current premier Lynne Browne will head its campaign.

"I want to send the ANC a box of whiskey and some flowers for putting Skwatsha on top of the list because that makes our lives a lot easier," she joked.

Sapa