DA to elect provincial leaders virtually

In a first for SA, the DA in the Eastern Cape will elect new leaders virtually next month.

The party’s provincial council gave the online elective congress the green light yesterday after provincial chair Andrew Whitfield and MD Elmarie Botha investigated its feasibility.

But before the more than 300 delegates could elect a new provincial executive committee on August 21, the party would need dry runs, Whitfield said.

The DA was supposed to have the congress from May 15-16 in Graaff-Reinet, but had to shelve the plans because of Covid-19.

And with no end in sight to the coronavirus, the opposition party decided to have the virtual congress with one person abstaining from voting while two others did not attend yesterday’s meeting.

The decision will likely pave the way for the party at national level to follow suit.

However, some leaders — like Gauteng provincial leader John Moodey and KwaZuluNatal MPL Mbali Ntuli, who have thrown their hats in the ring for the party leader position — have already voiced their objections to a national virtual congress proposal.

They have said interim leader John Steenhuisen, who is also vying for the top position, would have an unfair advantage as he has the platform to talk to delegates by virtue of being the acting leader.

Asked if he thought the Eastern Cape’s decision would have any bearing on the mooted national virtual congress, Whitfield said if they could do it in the province, anyone could.

“We are a vast province with lots of geographical challenges. We are proving in the province that we can have these meetings and have held a number of meetings of constituencies, provincial executives, campaign meetings, and other forms of meetings on this Zoom platform,” Whitfield said.

“I’m confident if the Eastern Cape can do it, anybody can do it and we are really proud to be leading the way.

“The DA in the Eastern Cape is charting the way forward for this party, but also for other political parties.

“It would be interesting to establish it, but I believe this is the first elective conference of any political party, certainly in SA, and potentially even the continent, that I’m aware of using this technology,” he said.

Whitfield said while the plan had been given the green light, they would not leave anything to chance.

“It got overwhelming support and so we move forward.

“We did a significant amount of work over June.

He said a hybrid virtual conference model had been developed whereby those identified as having the most significant connectivity issues would be “taken to a venue which has the appropriate Wi-Fi, better connections and devices for them to log on and do their voting”, he said.

Whitfield wants to be reelected for a second term while provincial leader Nqaba Bhanga is also expected to be re-elected without being contested.

Other leaders have not publicly declared their candidacy.

The DA had already concluded branch audits and annual general meetings in February in preparation for the May congress.

The congress will only be to elect new leaders and will not consider making amendments to the party’s constitution or have debates, as it normally does at congresses.