DA warns against leaking of report on support decline

The DA has warned against the leaking of a report on the state of the party after its loss of support in the May general elections.

Since the party lost seats in the elections, its leader Mmusi Maimane has come under pressure.

The DA said yesterday, after the meeting of its federal executive committee in Cape Town, it had discussed the state of the party.

Spokesperson Solly Malatsi said while they had discussed the report no decision had been taken on it.

“There was extensive engagement by members of the fedex with the panel and draft report ahead of a twoday sitting of the federal council on October 19 and 20,” said Malatsi.

“We wish to stress that no decisions were made in relation to the status of the draft report as this function lies with the federal council as the highest decision-making body of the party between congresses,” he said.

The DA has been caught up in a bitter struggle between those who back Maimane and those who favour former leader Helen Zille.

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) came out against Maimane’s leadership and endorsed Western Cape Premier Alan Winde to lead the party.

This was before Zille threw her hat in the ring and said she was contesting for the position of federal council chairperson.

The position has become vacant after James Selfe announced he would formally quit next weekend.

Zille is contesting the position with former Nelson Mandela Bay metro mayor Athol Trollip, ex-deputy chief whip Mike Waters and MP Thomas Walters.

The DA’s provincial leaders have come out in support of Maimane despite some wanting him out.

Maimane has been the subject of accusations about his renting a R4 million house from a businessman in Cape Town.

Maimane has also been criticised for driving a car made available to the party by Steinhoff.

Federal finance chairperson of the DA Dion George last week cleared Maimane of any wrongdoing in the two cases.

Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba this week lambasted the IRR for its involvement in DA matters.

Last week DA leaders in Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Limpopo, Free State and Gauteng expressed their support for Maimane.

The return of Zille to party politics five years after she left was been questioned by some in the party.

The presiding officer for the elections said Zille was eligible to contest the position.

The draft report on the state of the party was key in explaining its decline of support in the general elections.

Some of the party supporters voted for the Freedom Front Plus, which led to the DA’s electoral support declining.