The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s primary opposition party, has selected Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis as its new leader during a weekend party conference held near Johannesburg.
Hill-Lewis, age 39, was the anticipated choice to replace outgoing leader John Steenhuisen, who served as Agriculture Minister and guided the pro-business organization since 2019 before announcing his departure.
The leadership transition comes as South Africa prepares for mandatory local elections scheduled before November, with the ruling African National Congress expected to lose additional voter support.
Speaking before the leadership election on Saturday, Hill-Lewis outlined his ambitious goals. “Our mission is to build the DA into the biggest party in South Africa,” he declared.
The Democratic Alliance currently controls 22% of parliamentary seats in the lower chamber, trailing behind the ANC’s 41% majority. The party entered into a governing coalition with the ANC in 2024, though it continues opposing key policies including national health insurance and affirmative action measures.
Hill-Lewis has revealed limited specifics about his future strategy but is anticipated to maintain similar policies to his predecessor’s approach.
Local elections typically present greater challenges for the ANC compared to national contests, as citizens frustrated with inadequate basic services such as water delivery and infrastructure maintenance often vote against the party that has governed since apartheid’s conclusion in 1994.
However, the Democratic Alliance faces its own obstacles in expanding its influence across Africa’s most industrialized nation. The party continues to be perceived by many as representing white interests, and hasn’t had a non-white leader since 2019 in a country where over 90% of the population is non-white.
Political analyst and author Susan Booysen highlighted this challenge, noting: “It would’ve been so much easier for them to appeal to a broader constituency if there was a dynamic person … of another colour.”
