Cape Town – Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has strongly signalled his intent to seek a third term at the helm of South Africa’s main opposition party, even as internal tensions and political challenges mount ahead of the party’s elective conference later this year.
With nominations for leadership due to open on February 27 and close on March 27, Steenhuisen’s remarks underscore his determination to continue leading the party into the April 2026 federal congress.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press engagement in Cape Town this week, Steenhuisen described his leadership of the DA which began in 2019 as a work he wants to see through.
“I was elected with a majority, and I intend to fulfil my mandate with that majority,” he said, according to TimesLIVE.
“People are entitled to their opinions. I have had opponents in every internal election, and I have been able to see them off quite well, so I am very confident of my leadership of the party and what I have done with the party and where I have built the party from the one I inherited in 2019.”
Steenhuisen highlighted some of what he sees as the DA’s achievements under his leadership, particularly its role in the Government of National Unity (GNU) established after the 2024 elections.
“Senior party personalities met, picked [the DA] up, got it back into fighting status and led it into national government, and that’s a very solid achievement … not only are we not dead, we are now a core player in national government, and that’s something we are very proud of,” he said.
However, the path to a third term is not without undercurrents of internal criticism.
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Former DA minister Dion George resigned from the party earlier this month after a fallout with Steenhuisen that included allegations related to financial conduct and party direction.
George claimed the party had been “captured” and criticised Steenhuisen’s leadership decisions, asserting that these moves had harmed the DA’s integrity and effectiveness.
“The DA could have been that voice. It still has one final shot to make a vital change in April … and it had better not miss it,” he said upon leaving the party.
Steenhuisen has publicly downplayed the discord with George, describing it as typical of political differences and defending his use of party structures to make leadership changes.
“I don’t understand what the spat is. There’s no spat … I exercise my rights to make changes to the executive, as is my right under the party rules,” he told IOL, asserting that internal mechanisms have addressed related concerns. “The truth will be out there and everyone will know what it is.”
The party is also confronting electoral pressure in key regions. In the Western Cape, the DA recently lost two wards to the Patriotic Alliance (PA) in by-elections, with Steenhuisen acknowledging his concern over the shift in voter support.
“We have to ask why, in a province that we govern, people are voting for other parties,” he said, stressing the need to understand and respond to changing political dynamics.
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Compiled by Lisabeal Nqamqhele
