IF the DA wins the election on May 7, Helen Zille will be president.
Zille said yesterday she would be No1 on the party's new national list for the National Assembly, followed by Solly Malatsi of Limpopo and parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko of KwaZulu-Natal.
Should the party win more than 50% of the national vote, Zille would thus become president. Should the party win less than 50% of the national vote and retain the Western Cape province, it is understood she would remain premier.
The DA needed the national list because of its changing fortunes over the last few years. With its vote growing to more than 50% in the Western Cape, it would have to forfeit seats to other political parties if they did not have a national list.
Federal executive chairman James Selfe said Zille's leader board status on the national list did not preclude her nomination as No1 on the provincial list for Western Cape premier.
He said nominees could occupy a position on both lists, but if elected to one of them, their names would be "erased" from the other.
The decision by the party for Zille to top the list follows the furore after Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele chose not to stand as the DA's presidential candidate. – Denise Williams and Jan-Jan Joubert