DA congress rejects deputy leader position, again

The DA congress has again rejected a motion to introduce a deputy federal leader, albeit by a small margin this time around.

The motion to introduce a position of a deputy leader has been a point of contention at DA national congresses since 2006, splitting national congresses down the middle.

It was no different at the 2023 national congress of the DA on Saturday.

While other constitutional amendments were either approved or rejected easily, the revived draft motion on the deputy leader became a point of fierce contestation.

DA staff had to be called in to do a manual counting of the voting cards after which the auditors were called in to confirm the results.

But those who remain supportive of the defeated motion, by a small margin of a mere 29 votes, still argue this shows that DA delegates are now warming up to the idea of having a second-in-command.

It was introduced by Sakhile Mngadi who said the party’s growth required the leader, currently John Steenhuisen, to share his responsibilities with a deputy.

“The DA is once again on a path of growth. With this, comes great challenges for senior office bearers due to demand etc,” the proposer said.

“To ensure executive continuity, stability and effectiveness, the position of deputy leader provides the party with the opportunity to expand access to the executive and ensure that roles, access, availability and workload is shared evenly among recognisable personalities. The reality is that the DA needs to position itself as a solid front going into 2024 and 2026. The establishment of this role will effect positive change in the realisation of our growth and future prospects.” 

The amendment, according to some delegates, was mostly supported by members from Gauteng and the Western Cape.

One delegate said the margin was a positive sign the next congress in three years was likely to adopt the amendment.

“Compared to where it started to now, more and more people seem to be supporting the idea of a deputy federal leader,” said a delegate.

“The staff had to manually count the voting cards — green and red to show support or not. 

“We also had to call in auditors to verify the results. The chances are that it might pass in the next congress.”

The delegate dismissed the notion that had the amendment passed it would have benefited Mpho Phalatse who is contesting for the federal leader position.

“Had it passed we were going to make a call for nomination for a deputy leader so it wouldn’t have been obvious that it would go to her because anyone could have raised their hand,” the delegate said.

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