The Democratic Alliance has changed its selection procedures for local government candidates in Cape Town after discrepancies in membership lists were discovered in a number of branches in the city.
Branches send delegates to an electoral college in accordance with membership size. But a recent federal audit of the party’s structures found variations, including non-existent members and members paid for by other members to boost numbers.
This has led to a battle between the old guard — mainly English-language white liberals — and the newer coloured and Afrikaans factions of the party. The liberals wanted the election system changed, while the newcomers were pushing for the present system to continue — with the exclusion of branches where flaws were unearthed. The liberals have won.
The procedure is key in the determination of candidates for the upcoming city metropolitan election — part of the local elections which must be held before March. The stakes are high because Cape Town is the one metropolitan area where the DA could defeat the African National Congress.
While it is unclear how many branches were involved, a source said the problems were a ”repeat of the previous saga” where former New National Party branches were found to have membership discrepancies.
After the last municipal poll, in 2000, the discovery of anomalies led to a fierce battle between members supporting then-NNP leader, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, and the former Democratic Party grouping. It was one of the reasons for Van Schalkwyk’s walkout.
In 2000, the DA won Cape Town but lost power two years later when a number of NNP councillors backed the ANC. On this occasion, a routine federal audit of branch membership exposed similar patterns in wards in Cape Town’s coloured heartland, where the fiercest battle between the ANC and the DA is expected to take place, and in parts of the northern suburbs, where the DA achieved voter support of between 70% and 90% in 2000.
Prospective mayoral candidate Kent Morkel refused to provide details of the discrepancies or say how the selection system would be changed.
However, it is understood that it has been modified from a purely proportional system, where larger branches have the bigger say in the electoral college, to one where branches nominate candidates, of whom 30 are then selected by the party’s regional structure. These will make the final choice.
The regional structure is headed by former Western Cape Education MEC Helen Zille and includes Morkel.
Once selected, the 30-person electoral college is set to sit ”continuously” for two weeks to select about 200 candidates for Cape Town.
It is understood that the DA will not be standing in all 105 ward seats, but will have more than the required number of candidates for the 105 proportional representation seats.
It is not clear whether a mayoral candidate will emerge, but Morkel said he would hold discussions with party leaders on his mayoral bid.
Zille was seen as another candidate, but has ruled herself out.