Steenhuisen says he'll have no say on whether Zille runs as DA's Joburg mayoral candidate
John Steenhuisen said that Helen Zille's future role would be determined by a selection panel which does not include him.
DA federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, addressed a media briefing in Johannesburg on 5 May 2025. Picture: @Our_DA/X
CAPE TOWN - Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says he will have no say as to whether the party’s federal chairperson, Helen Zille, will run as the party’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate.
Having already announced its mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay, Steenhuisen said the party planned to announce its other candidates soon, as it looks to get started on its local government election campaign, particularly in the metros.
Zille's candidacy has set tongues wagging, but Steenhuisen said she would have to compete for the job just like everyone else.
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While some might think it’s time for Zille to throw in the towel on politics, the former Cape Town mayor and Western Cape premier is looking to get stuck into the problems in the City of Johannesburg.
Steenhuisen said that Zille's future role would be determined by a selection panel which does not include him.
"The party can't endorse any candidate until the process is completed. There is a fair and open process. There are three candidates, as far as I'm aware. That selection panel will sit in due course. The candidates will be interviewed. They will have to do a presentation on their plan to turn Joburg around. They'll have to go through a number of questions that they will have to answer."
Steenhuisen believes the party’s participation in the Government of National Unity has shifted the DA's brand and will improve its prospects of emerging as the largest party in several metros.
"So we are planning to take over in Joburg and Tshwane. And I think that voters are seeing now, more increasingly, that splitting your vote amongst all these smaller parties, has led to the merry-go-round that is Joburg."
Steenhuisen himself is yet to decide whether he will be vying to lead his party into the next elections, with the party set to elect a new leader in April.