A new era beckons for DA as it heads to congress

The DA is set for sweeping changes in its leadership when the country’s second largest party emerges from its federal congress on Sunday.

The positions of federal leader and federal council chair are set to be held by new people simultaneously in what will be a first for the party.

The party, a key cog in the government of national unity (GNU), is also set for a general change in its leadership ranks, with younger candidates the frontrunners for several top positions.

The congress, which takes place against the backdrop of the DA’s first term as a governing party inside the GNU, will see outgoing federal leader John Steenhuisen step down from the role, while federal council chairperson Helen Zille has also declined to stand again for the role.

Issues such as the possible inclusion of a deputy federal leader and the DA’s inclusion in the GNU will be up for debate when the 2,500 delegates gather in Johannesburg.

Business Day understands that figures aligned with the Zille-era governance tradition have coalesced around candidates who favour continuity of the party’s policy trajectory.

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, widely seen as the frontrunner for the federal leadership, is closely associated with the political tradition linked to Zille’s tenure.

Hill-Lewis and Ashor Sarupen, first deputy chair of the DA federal council, represent a younger generation of leaders who have focused on repositioning the party as a credible governing force rather than a reactive opposition.

Sarupen is also heading the DA’s 2026 local government election campaign, giving him an unusual weight at the congress.

Sarupen is unequivocal that the DA must recommit to its liberal foundations. The party, in his view, must be anchored in the rule of law and a market economy with room for centre-right, centre and centre-left voices under that framework.

The congress has the potential to place more black leaders in key positions, with figures such as Sarupen, communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi and basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube all in contention for senior roles.

Malatsi and Gwarube are on the ballot to become one of three deputy federal chairpersons.

The party’s Gauteng leader, Solly Msimanga, has also thrown down the gauntlet, fighting Ivan Meyer for the federal chair post.

Another “Young Turk” in the running is the DA’s Sedibeng caucus leader, Sibusiso Dyonase, opposing Hill-Lewis for the party leadership.

“South Africa has tried the ANC’s version of economic redress since the late 1990’s and it has produced the highest youth unemployment rate and entrenched inequality,” Sarupen said.

“It also led to the ANC losing their majority. The DA has undergone a long journey to develop systems of redress that focus on poverty, not race, and the ANC need to take a lesson from the last election and consider pivoting rather than doubling down on having things their own way.”

“[The generational change] signals a coming of age for a lot of the talent … candidates which have all grown in the structures of the party. We have grown of age through our experience in government and parliament. The development that the party has made in people has paid off,” Malatsi said.

Political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said the DA has more power in the GNU than outside the coalition and would seek its continuation after the congress.

“Without the GNU, the DA loses key executive positions in cabinet and serious policy influence. They will not risk this but will of course always posture and present themselves in ways that make their voters believe they are in an opposition role inside the GNU,” Ngoasheng said.