SA’s main opposition party rocked as leader resigns

The resignation of the leader of South Africa’s official opposition and another top official marked a deepening crisis in a party that’s been dogged by a loss in electoral support and infighting over appointments and policies.

The departure of Mmusi Maimane, who announced Thursday he’d resigned from the Democratic Alliance and as a member of parliament, is a blow to the party’s efforts to bolster its share of the vote among the black majority and challenge the electoral dominance of the ruling African National Congress. He succeeded Helen Zille as party leader in May 2015. It gives the ANC some breathing room as it tries to recover its popularity following the scandal-ridden nine-year rule of Jacob Zuma.

Read: DA leader Mmusi Maimane resigns

“The entire episode has been a disaster for the DA,” said Daniel Silke, the director of Political Futures Consultancy in Cape Town. “The DA may take years, not months to regain the trust of voters.”

Maimane’s announcement of his resignation from the DA and parliament on Twitter marked a reversal from a previous statement that he wanted to stay on as the party’s leader in the legislature until the end of the year.

I have worked tirelessly to build the project of One SA for All. It’s been my greatest honour to serve the people of SA and will continue to do so. I have today resigned from the DA and Parliament. Thank you to the people of this country for your faith in our nation. God bless SA

— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) October 24, 2019

“There have been several months of a consistent and coordinated attack on me and my leadership,” Maimane told reporters in Johannesburg Wednesday after a meeting of the DA’s executive. “We will continue to fight. We will not step away from politics.”

Maimane, 39, was under pressure to resign after the DA’s share of the vote slipped to 20.8% in May elections, from 22.2% five years earlier. The party failed to articulate policies that differentiated it from the ANC and didn’t make clear its strategy on affirmative action in a country that suffered racial oppression during apartheid rule.

Maimane had a further setback on October 20 when Zille beat his ally, Athol Trollip, to win election as head of the party’s Federal Council, one of the most powerful posts. The next day, the DA’s Herman Mashaba said he will step down as Johannesburg’s mayor in November because he believes Zille’s appointment constituted a victory for a DA faction that opposed race-based redress and clashed with most South Africans’ values.

Regain trust

Mashaba’s resignation may put at risk the DA’s working relationship with the populist Economic Freedom Fighters that helped it keep control of the nation’s biggest city. South Africa is due to hold its next municipal election in 2021 and national elections in 2024.

Trollip also announced his resignation as the DA’s federal chairman, saying he shared responsibility for the party’s failings.

Under the party’s constitution, Trollip should have taken over as head from Maimane until it could hold an elective conference. Its leadership will meet Thursday to chart a way forward, Zille said.

© 2019 Bloomberg L.P.