De Lille, Max battle it out in DA leadership race

Each side says they’re ahead, but party insiders say they are neck and neck

THE TWO-horse race for next month’s DA provincial leadership elections in the Western Cape is heating up, as Patricia de Lille and Lennit Max crisscross the province, each trying to persuade members that they are best suited to lead the party.

With just a month to go before the DA’s provincial congress, De Lille and Max have been running clean campaigns, addressing DA constituencies one after the other at the same meetings.

While supporters on either side claimed their candidate was leading the race, senior party insiders said there was 50-50 split.

De Lille, Cape Town’s mayor who is already driving the DA’s message and agenda in local government, said she believed in rewarding people for hard work and in engaging in debate to find the right way of doing things.

A veteran campaigner, De Lille said she wanted to be an inclusive leader who could help drive the party’s political campaign ahead of the 2016 local government elections and beyond.

She would do this, she said, by working closely with regions, constituencies and DA structures.

Her vision for the province is based on six leadership principles, with a leadership that: Makes rural issues its own. Is committed to winning new DA supporters in every municipality. Wants to make a political home for all. Communicates a party of government. Engages with people. Shares the lessons of government. Max said his vision for the party was that of a united and integrated DA, inclusive of all races, gender and religion.

It was important that “each DA member personally experiences freedom of opinion, fairness in treatment and equal opportunities”. Max wanted to see:

A party that promotes vigorous debate;

A party where women and youth structures were fully represented in the provincial executive committee;

A party where all are equal and where mutual respect prevails;

A party where public representatives get first hand information;

A party where the leadership is accessible to all.

DA provincial chairman Anton Bredell confirmed it was all systems go for the provincial congress, to be held on April 18, at His People Church at N1 City. Problems that had caused the congress’s postponement last month had been dealt with.

The provincial congress must fill six provincial leadership positions – provincial leader, deputy leader, chairperson, three provincial deputy chairpersons – as well as four additional members and the chair of finance.

More than a thousand delegates from DA branches across the province will converge on Goodwood.

Bredell said each election would be conducted by secret ballot.

EACH DA MEMBER MUST PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE FREEDOM OF OPINION, FAIRNESS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES