DA leader John Steenhuisen. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has dismissed media reports suggesting he is on his way out ahead of the party’s elective conference next year, labelling speculation about his possible ouster as a mere “fantasy” created by outsiders trying to fuel divisions within the party.
Steenhuisen, who also serves as agriculture minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of national unity (GNU), insisted that there was no internal dissatisfaction with his leadership and he was not worried about “so-called factions” in the DA because they did not exist.
“We have not been made aware of the existence of any factions and we are not worried because our congress is more than a year away,” he said in written response to questions from the Mail & Guardian.
The DA’s federal council, its highest decision-making body, had held a meeting this week and “nobody mentioned any unhappiness with the party leadership”, he added.
Under Steenhuisen’s leadership, the DA secured 21.8% of the vote in the 2024 general elections, a 1.04 percentage point improvement on the 2019 election when the voter share dipped by 1.46 percentage points under former leader Mmusi Maimane.
Last year’s elections saw Ramophosa’s ANC lose its national election majority for the first time since 1994, forcing it into a coalition government with the DA and smaller parties.
Steenhuisen, who secured more than 80% of the vote in the last two DA elective conferences, said he was open to party members contesting his position.
“The DA is a democratic party and I believe someone will raise their hand again to challenge me in the run-up to our election conference.”
After speculation in the media that the DA would go into congress earlier than scheduled, in November this year, federal chairperson Ivan Meyer confirmed that it was still set for April 2026.
“I wish to address misguided speculation regarding a possible early elective congress for the purpose of electing new leadership before the expiry of the current three-year term,” Meyer said in a recent statement.
“Media speculation suggesting otherwise has no foundation in any decision-making structure of the party. I am determined to implement the provisions of the federal constitution and end media speculation about an early federal congress.”
A faction in the DA’s Gauteng leadership pushed for the party to withdraw from the coalition government at a federal council (Fedco) meeting in Johannesburg last week, insiders said.
They said the proposal was spearheaded by Gauteng MP Crezane Bosch, who allegedly sought to rally support for the move, citing unresolved tension and failed coalition negotiations at the provincial level. The sources said Bosch allegedly convened a virtual meeting ahead of the Fedco gathering to lobby provincial leaders but the initiative failed.
Bosch’s actions come after DA federal council chair Helen Zille was accused of orchestrating a leadership bid by Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Hill-Lewis has ruled out a challenge, saying he would not stand against his friend, but party insiders expect him to change his mind in the run-up to the congress.
Zille was tightlipped on developments in the party this week, only saying: “The party does not discuss internal party issues with the media.”
Last week, Zille told the M&G on the sidelines of a media briefing that she was not leading any faction that supported Steenhuisen’s axing. She said her job was to ensure that rules were applied fairly and that the party’s constitution was applied equitably to every member.
“I’m not a politician. I don’t want to be a political public representative; in that sense, I’m not a politician. I do not have factions,” Zille said then.
A senior party source suggested that the Gauteng faction’s dissatisfaction stemmed from its inability to negotiate favourable terms with the ANC which had resulted in the DA being left out of the provincial coalition government.
“We get the sense that their discontent within the province is that they failed to negotiate with Panyaza [Lesufi of the ANC] to give in to their demands, despite pressure from the DA’s national leadership,” the source said.
“Now they feel let down that Steenhuisen couldn’t fight for them and now want out of the GNU or Steenhuisen’s head on the chopping block.”
Instead of forming a coalition with the DA in Gauteng, the ANC opted for a minority government with the Inkatha Freedom Party, Patriotic Alliance and Rise Mzansi, with informal backing from the uMkhonto weSizwe party and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
Sources who attended the Fedco meeting at the DA’s headquarters last week in Bruma, Johannesburg, said Steenhuisen played a key role in reaffirming the party’s commitment to the GNU. In the face of growing frustration over the DA’s exclusion from key decision-making processes, he reportedly urged patience and pragmatism.
“Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of DA ministers in the cabinet, with some members questioning their influence. Steenhuisen defended his colleagues, arguing that compromise was necessary in a coalition where no party held an outright majority,” one party insider said.
“He held his own. The leader said that we are not going to get everything we want as the DA and we did not get an outright majority … we did not sign up to be an opposition forever.
The meeting was initially convened to finalise the DA’s selection guidelines for the 2026 local elections but a broader discussion emerged over the party’s stance in the coalition government.
“The general conclusion at the federal council was that we stay as long as we can insist that there is a red line, and if there is no compromise on this, then we leave,” a source said.
DA sources in Gauteng have since called for a leader from the province to challenge Steenhuisen.
The sources said the party had already made concessions on several policy matters — including the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment Act — and argued that should be reason enough to find a younger leader, such as Solly Malatsi, Chris Pappas or even Hill-Lewis.
During the party’s pre-state of the nation address on Wednesday, Steenhuisen said the DA would stay in the coalition government to provide solutions to the country’s economic challenges, including those in the health system.
“We intend to stay in the GNU to fight policies like the [national health insurance]. I am pleased that we have received an undertaking now that the provisions that would have caused the termination of private medical aids have been taken out of the medium-term development plan,” he said.