DA leader Mmusi Maimane has taken responsibility for the DA’s electoral losses in last week’s election.
In a letter sent to party members on Monday, and seen by Business Day, Maimane said he took "full responsibility" for the party's performance, which saw it fail to match its 2014 performance. His predecessors Tony Leon and Helen Zille both oversaw increases in support when they fought election campaigns.
Maimane’s letter was sent out to all party members two days after the final election results were announced by the Electoral Commission of SA in Pretoria. The party lost support nationally and in crucial provinces such as the Western Cape and Gauteng.
“As leader of the DA, I take full responsibility for the outcome of this election. I can honestly and in good conscience state that I did my very best and gave everything of myself in the run-up to this election,” Maimane said.
Maimane makes it clear that the DA “cannot afford to undertake a period of self-destruction”.
The party managed to hold on to the Western Cape, the only one of its key objectives that it managed to achieve.
“We also cannot afford not to undergo a period of constructive change. We have to use this outcome as an opportunity to change what needs to be changed and then we must build on from there,” Maimane told DA members, which included public representatives and staff, in the letter dated May 13.
It was sent out on the same day as the federal executive meeting where it was decided that the top leadership would take collective responsibility for the losses.
Maimane described the DA’s performance at the polls as a “setback” — for the first time in the party’s history — though he said it was a temporary one.
“This has indeed been a setback, but only a temporary one. We can and must recover. Without doubt, we made mistakes and many issues should have been better handled. For the sake of our country, we need an honest assessment of why we failed to achieve our objectives. Then we need to make the necessary changes however tough that might be, so that we can emerge stronger than before,” Maimane said.
His leadership has come under the spotlight in the wake of the results, although the party's federal executive said there would be no change until the next federal congress in 2021.
“We have a moral duty to occupy the rational centre of South Africa’s politics,” Maimane said. “We dare not pander to the left or right; we must occupy the centre.
“I remain 100% committed to continuing the work of uniting people, be they black, white, coloured or Indian, around the shared values required to build a successful South Africa that generates opportunities for all,” Maimane said.
He said he appreciated the support of the federal executive and members of the party and would be working with the federal executive to address the challenges.
Maimane said he had commissioned a review process chaired by an impartial person from outside the party, to ensure that the DA properly evaluate the reasons behind the result, and that it was endorsed by the federal executive. He said the federal council —which was set to take place in June — would be brought forward to expedite changes required.
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