By Johnathan Paoli
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has rejected a proposal to create a deputy federal leader position, following a closely contested vote, as debates over internal governance and party discipline took centre stage on Saturday.
Delegates at the party’s Federal Congress in Midrand voted on a series of constitutional amendments, including a controversial proposal to introduce a second-in-command to the federal leader, a position that has never existed in the DA.
Chairperson of the constitutional review committee, Kevin Mileham, confirmed that the proposal ultimately failed to secure the required two-thirds majority, prompting a firm response from the party’s constitutional review leadership.
“Amendment 36 received 50.08% of the vote. There is no provision for a re-vote, so we will not be doing a re-vote. Those of you who are complaining, you did not even come close to the two-thirds majority that would be required,” Mileham said.
The amendment was proposed by KZN MPL Mzamo Billy who expressed his concerns that the DA’s federal leader is increasingly occupied with responsibilities in the Government of National Unity (GNU), leaving limited time to focus on internal party matters.
Proponents argued that a deputy leader would take on organisational responsibilities and strengthen the party’s internal functioning.
However, senior party figures pushed back strongly against the proposal, arguing that such a role already exists in practice through the federal chairperson.
Among them was Solly Msimanga, a candidate for federal chairperson, who dismissed the proposal outright.
“This proposal is very strange because the people who are proposing this don’t understand what the federal chairperson position is. The federal chairperson is actually the deputy leader of the party. Maybe this talks to how this position is occupied and how it was used before,” he said.
The debate over the party’s internal structure unfolded alongside broader discussions about discipline, membership and constitutional reform, with DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach defending the party’s rules and rejecting claims that members are being silenced.
“If you don’t like the contract, you don’t have to be a member,” Breytenbach said.
She added that there are no DA members who are being “suppressed”, but emphasised the importance of maintaining internal cohesion.
“The DA can’t have members going out to spill the beans about internal party issues,” she said.
Addressing concerns around proposed rule changes, Breytenbach framed the amendments as necessary updates rather than fundamental shifts.
“As new situations arise, we do not have rules to deal with it. Now these amendments are to keep up with developments. They do not make fundamental changes, this is just a tweaking of the constitution for the new situation,” she said.
PHOTO: Eddie Mtsweni
The congress is considering a total of 54 constitutional amendments, which could significantly reshape aspects of the party’s governance.
Among them is a proposal to tighten eligibility criteria for leadership positions, requiring members to be in good standing for at least six months, up from the current 30-day requirement, before they can stand for elected office within the party.
In a separate but related debate, delegates also considered a resolution aimed at strengthening grassroots accountability among public representatives.
The resolution, proposed by Mogale City mayoral candidate Tyrone Gray, seeks to ensure that DA members demonstrate sustained commitment to branch structures before being deployed to public office.
Gray argued that the move is necessary to prevent so-called “parachutism”, where individuals enter the party and quickly ascend to public positions without building grassroots support.
“What we want to define as parachutism is when less effort was put in to positioning. However, what the resolution seeks to do is to ensure all public reps have to go through the grassroots up approach,” Gray said.
He warned that a lack of internal loyalty could have negative consequences for the party.
“As can be seen, some negative impacts of parachutism when people aren’t loyal to the party but simply use it as positioning or access to the public purse. What we want is loyal, dedicated, committed public representatives,” he said.
However, some delegates cautioned against overly rigid rules that could deter new talent from joining the party.
Cilliers Brink, the DA’s mayoral candidate for Tshwane, said the party must strike a careful balance between internal development and external recruitment.
“But I suppose there is always some resentment if talented outsiders are recruited to be politicians. Every political party does that; you look to the outside and say how can we find new ways of relating to people but there has to be a balance,” Brink said.
The two-day congress concludes on Sunday, with the announcement of the top leadership of the party.
PHOTO: Eddie Mtsweni
INSIDE POLITICS