Preperations for local government elections in the province are steaming ahead in the DA.
The poll is likely to be held in May, if all goes according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) plan.
The provincial leadership has given the go-ahead for the process of sifting through members for the best candidates.
DA provincial chairwoman Veliswa Mvenya said the process, known as “electoral colleges”, would be spread out in all DA constituencies in the province.
Mvenya yesterday told the Dispatch that the party began preparing to interview members for mayoral and councillor candidacy at the beginning of November.
“Our electoral colleges were officially opened on November 1 and we close the first phase on December 10.
“This is where all members who have applied for councillor candidacy will be interviewed,” she said. This is followed by selection panels going through the candidates and interviewing them again.
“The selection panels conduct final interviews for rankings. If there are more candidates than vacancies, the number is reduced to fit the number of posts.”
The ranking interviews by the panels will be from January 6 to 31.
Unlike other political parties, the DA does not hold branch general meetings where branch leaders are elected.
The branch leaders, specifically the chair, usually becomes the ward councillor and serves in the municipal council.
“The panels for the interviews have to be approved by the provincial leaders, an attempt to prevent bias.
Anyone interested in serving as a DA councillor was welcome to apply, she added. “During these electoral colleges, we will be looking for people who really want to serve others – people with a variety of skills including leadership.
“In order for our councillors not to fail, they must possess certain skills which will make us perform better,” she said.
The DA is the main opposition party in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and has vowed to dethrone the ruling party.
It is expected that the municipality will be highly contested as the new kids on the block, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and UDM also contesting for seats in the council.
Mvenya said the metro was their main target, and retaining their municipalities.
However some of the local municipalities the DA enjoyed majority in will be now merged with other councils.
These include Baviaans municipality, which will be merged with Ikwezi and Camdeboo.
“We want to retain these councils that we were leading, but until the MDB process is finalised, we have to go back to the growing board and strategise.
“Otherwise Komga and the Nelson Mandela Metro are our priority municipalities,” Mvenya said.
DA to choose council lists
The poll is likely to be held in May, if all goes according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) plan.
The provincial leadership has given the go-ahead for the process of sifting through members for the best candidates.
DA provincial chairwoman Veliswa Mvenya said the process, known as “electoral colleges”, would be spread out in all DA constituencies in the province.
Mvenya yesterday told the Dispatch that the party began preparing to interview members for mayoral and councillor candidacy at the beginning of November.
“Our electoral colleges were officially opened on November 1 and we close the first phase on December 10.
“This is where all members who have applied for councillor candidacy will be interviewed,” she said. This is followed by selection panels going through the candidates and interviewing them again.
“The selection panels conduct final interviews for rankings. If there are more candidates than vacancies, the number is reduced to fit the number of posts.”
The ranking interviews by the panels will be from January 6 to 31.
Unlike other political parties, the DA does not hold branch general meetings where branch leaders are elected.
The branch leaders, specifically the chair, usually becomes the ward councillor and serves in the municipal council.
“The panels for the interviews have to be approved by the provincial leaders, an attempt to prevent bias.
Anyone interested in serving as a DA councillor was welcome to apply, she added. “During these electoral colleges, we will be looking for people who really want to serve others – people with a variety of skills including leadership.
“In order for our councillors not to fail, they must possess certain skills which will make us perform better,” she said.
The DA is the main opposition party in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro and has vowed to dethrone the ruling party.
It is expected that the municipality will be highly contested as the new kids on the block, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and UDM also contesting for seats in the council.
Mvenya said the metro was their main target, and retaining their municipalities.
However some of the local municipalities the DA enjoyed majority in will be now merged with other councils.
These include Baviaans municipality, which will be merged with Ikwezi and Camdeboo.
“We want to retain these councils that we were leading, but until the MDB process is finalised, we have to go back to the growing board and strategise.
“Otherwise Komga and the Nelson Mandela Metro are our priority municipalities,” Mvenya said.
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