- The DA believes its federal congress scheduled for this weekend will be a watershed gathering that may see whoever emerges as its leader going on to be the president of the country.
- This was according to the congress’ presiding officer Gregory Krumbock.
- Krumbock said the DA was prioritising the legitimacy and integrity of the elections.
The DA believes that whoever emerges as its leader after its federal congress over the weekend can go on to become the president of the country. The party says its belief is based on recent polling figures from independent organisations and its internal surveys.
Addressing the media on the readiness of the party ahead of its federal congress, the presiding officer of the two-day gathering in Midrand, DA MP Gregory Krumbock, said this was a watershed moment, not only for the party, but the country’s future.
“This congress is crucial, we believe – with recent opinion polls constantly reflecting that the ruling party now enjoys around 40% of the electoral support. The polls recently reflected by Rapport, and the Social Research Foundation’s polling, indicated that the DA had overtaken the ANC in the urban areas. We may very well be elected the country’s president (sic) at this congress this weekend,” said Krumbock.
DA national spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube echoed Krumbock’s sentiments, saying elected leaders should understand that they needed to lead the efforts of ensuring growth in the party’s support base. Gwarube said the party wanted to be part of whatever coalition would lead the country.
“Given our own research and the outcomes of most recent municipal elections, the most likely outcomes in 2024 would be a coalition government. The elected DA leaders will then need to make sure that the party is a key anchor tenant in the coalition that will lead the country,” Gwarube said.
Krumbock said that, given the importance of the outcomes of this congress, the party was prioritising the legitimacy and integrity of the elections.
He said the DA was doing this by ensuring that the voting process was free and fair while all candidates were vetted.
According to Krumbock, the DA was also making sure that the almost 2 000 delegates were chosen in a manner that ensured that they were representative of South Africans.
Krumbock added:
Nearly 2000 delegates from around the country will be in attendance. According to party policy, at least 45% of the delegates must be non-public representatives to ensure that the voices of all DA members and supporters are reflected in the outcomes of the leadership race.
He said about 400 members of the media had shown interest in the accreditation process ahead of the federal congress. This was in “anticipation of something great [happening] during the 2024 national elections”, he said.
According to Krumbock, DA delegates from across the country had started arriving in Johannesburg and would start their registration process on Saturday morning.
He added that the party had established an electronic voting system to ensure that no human error creeped in due to the large number of votes expected to be cast.
Krumbock dismissed concerns made on social media by former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse that using the online voting system could disadvantage her camp.
Krumbock said:
What candidates or a candidate (Phalatse) says about the voting system is their view, and we can’t comment on that, but the presiding officers can address delegates and alleviate their fears on the voting system.
The writing appears to be on the wall for Phalatse as DA leader John Steenhuisen has garnered support from almost all provincial leaders, including Gauteng, where Phalatse’s support base was expected to come from.
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