To go virtual or not: the DA to decide next week

The DA in the Eastern Cape will decide on Monday whether to hold its elective congress virtually or not.

DA provincial chair Andrew Whitfield and provincial MD Elmarie Botha were tasked in May with investigating the feasibility of electing new officials online. They will table their report at Monday’s provincial council meeting for possible ratification.

The DA was expected to hold the elective congress in May in Cradock, but it had to be shelved because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Should the provincial council give the virtual congress proposal the thumbs up, it would make the Eastern Cape the first province to elect leaders online.

The party would likely have the congress in August. Branch audits and annual general meetings were finalised by February.

Whitfield, who wants a second term as the party’s secondin-command in the Eastern Cape, confirmed to the Daily Dispatch on Thursday that they had wrapped up the investigation.

“It’s not a full congress, it’s just the elective compound. The debates, the resolutions and amendments to the constitution are a much more robust and interactive engagement, and we need to be physically present for that.

“We conducted a preliminary investigation and identified that it is possible to host a virtual elective congress in the Eastern Cape. There are areas where there are connectivity challenges, however what was presented to the PEC are two options.

“One is a full virtual model where everybody would be reliant on their individual devices to connect. The option of going full virtual may have been problematic for people, not just because of connectivity challenges, but because of the tools of trade to connect to the platform,” he said.

The second option is a hybrid model that will give delegates the option of connecting from home or in small groups of 10 or 12 at certain venues.

“That is the proposal that will go to the provincial council,” he said.

Unlike some parties who vote by show of hands, the DA uses a secret ballot.

Asked how they would ensure the vote was not compromised should they give the virtual congress the green light, Whitfield said they looked at two voting systems.

“The one we adopted is currently being used by the DA, it’s an online voting application which we’ve used for the policy conference and in selection processes, and we are confident that it’s secure.

“We haven’t invented the wheel here. We’ve looked at international best practices, options and affordability of the tools and we’ve identified one that we think is not only secure but also user-friendly which is important,” he said.

The party is toying with the idea of electing new national leaders virtually, but that has been met by strong opposition from some.

The DA was expected to hold the elective congress in May in Cradock, but it had to be shelved because of the Covid-19 outbreak