Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, who led the DA since 2019 and served as agriculture minister, was expected to run unopposed but stepped aside after internal disputes and past controversies. He said he would focus on managing the country’s severe foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, for which he has been criticised.
His decision came nearly two years after he helped steer the DA into a historic coalition with the African National Congress (ANC) following its loss of majority. Despite tensions, Steenhuisen and President Cyril Ramaphosa had often shown unity, including during a meeting with former US President Donald Trump.
No candidates had yet declared for the DA leadership, though Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was widely mentioned as a potential successor.
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The election of John Steenhuisen as Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and the re-election of Helen Zille as chair of its Federal Council are unlikely to help the nation’s main opposition party improve its electoral success, writes Stephen Grootes for Daily Maverick. In his victory address, Steenhuisen said that South Africans had been robbed of their destiny by a state which is corrupt but “hell-bent on telling you what to do”. Steenhuisen painted a dark picture
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John Steenhuisen.
