DA agrees to hold virtual elective congress

The DA’s federal council has agreed to hold a virtual elective congress at which the party will vote for a new leader.

The federal congress will be held over two days from October 31 to November 1.

The DA was scheduled to have its elective congress in May, but was postponed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown.

John Steenhuisen, who is the interim leader, will be going up against Gauteng leader John Moodey and KwaZulu-Natal MPL Mbali Ntuli.

DA Gauteng chair Mike Moriarty will be taking on Helen Zille for the position of federal council chair, which the former leader now holds.

The early elective congress was called after the departure of DA leader Mmusi Maimane who resigned  in October 2019 after the party took a beating at the polls in South Africa’s general election.

South Africa has been in various stages of lockdown since the end of March in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19. The number of infections has been surging over the past few weeks as South Africa heads towards the peak of the virus.

The lockdown has hampered political parties' activities such as holding large gatherings and conferences.  

DA federal chair Ivan Meyer on Sunday said the vote in favour of the virtual congress was supported by an “overwhelming majority” after a lengthy discussion on a range of aspects, including technical issues affecting online voting.

In preparation for the congress, the party’s professional staff will conduct an audit of the personal circumstances of every delegate, to make certain that each one is able to participate fully in terms of the regulations covering the risk-adjusted strategy that may be in force then, he said.