Good party finds itself in a ‘precarious position’ as it vies for votes
About 500 members of the Good party will gather at the City Hall in Cape Town on 10 and 11 November at its elective conference, which will be the party’s first such conference since its formation.
The conference will be held under the theme of “Unleashing the Power of our Vote – #Good2grow” and will build on the party’s foundation to position Good as an independent and constructive opposition voice, with representation at all levels of government.
Patricia de Lille will stand unchallenged for party leader, whereas positions such as chairperson, secretary-general and deputy secretary-general will all be contested by at least two candidates each.
Explaining the voting process, current secretary-general Brett Herron told Daily Maverick: “The delegates will vote by secret ballot on a preprinted ballot. The elections are being conducted by The Elexions Agency, an independent elections agency. Each delegate will get to cast one vote per candidate and the candidate with the majority of the votes will be elected. There will be no nominations from the floor.”
Herron said the conference would include a report from De Lille, an organisational report from Herron, debates about proposed party constitutional amendments and a review of policies with the adoption of some amendments or new policy positions on, for example, foreign policy and the LGBTQI+ community.
During the party’s first election campaign in 2019, it gained two seats in Parliament and one seat in the Western Cape legislature. Independent polling analyst Wayne Sussman told Daily Maverick that the party found itself in a precarious position, as the Patriotic Alliance had emerged as a viable alternative to Good for former DA voters. And then there are independent candidates such as Zackie Achmat, who will campaign on a social justice ticket.
“So Good finds itself having unique challenges and I think it’s going to have to double down on its credentials as a party which cares about social justice and social democratic values, and then again become relevant and a realistic option for voters, particularly in the Western Cape, which is where they draw their majority of support,” he added.
“I think they want to emerge from here convincing South African voters, particularly Western Cape voters, that they are still a party to be reckoned with and they are still a party that can play a role in the future of South Africa and Western Cape politics,” added Sussman.