DA senior leader Mike Moriarty has announced that he will challenge Helen Zille for the position of the party’s chairperson of the federal council.
In an indirect attack on Zille, Moriarty said the position should be occupied by a person who will bring stability to the party, not controversy.
This comes days after Zille caused a storm tweeting that the current democratic government had more racist policies than the Apartheid government.
“I will be campaigning on the basis of a long track record of success in positions that will have prepared me for the job. I am standing because I believe I am the best candidate,” he said.
“Moreover, the chairperson should bring stability, not controversy,” he added.
Moriarty is a member of the finance and community safety committees in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
Party senior members including DA Gauteng spokesperson on education Khume Ramulifho have written to DA leader John Steenhuisen and his deputy, Thomas Walters, asking them to refer Zille to the party’s federal legal commission, the organisation’s disciplinary structure, over her tweets.
Zille also discredited the role of the ANC in the struggle against Apartheid and praised the last Apartheid president, FW de Klerk.
The DA was set to hold its federal congress in November. Zille’s election in October last year rocked the party, resulting in the resignation of former leaders Mmusi Maimane and Herman Mashaba.
“The vision of the federal executive is that the DA should be the core of a realigned majority by 2024 to achieve an open opportunity society for SA,” said Moriarty.
