The country almost collectively refers to former president Jacob Zuma's term as the nine wasted years. His presidency, while disastrous for the country, was a boon for opposition parties, seeing the rise of the EFF and an opportunity to make what should have been a leap forward for the DA.
Instead, while the DA has seen some growth it has been marred by in-fighting, factional splits, weak leadership and stumbling policy.
It seems they are not sure who they are talking to - they are not attracting youth interest and are losing their older constituencies to more right-leaning parties such as the FF+. With the emergence of the Capitalist Party that loss may grow.
Our group of experts - data analyst Paul Berkowitz, deputy editor of Financial Mail Sikonathi Mantshantsha and Business Day political editor Genevieve Quintal - ask whether the DA will continue to grow.
While Berkowitz makes a numbers case that they likely will, the conversation quickly turns to a more personal question - will DA leader Mmusi Maimane keep his job?
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The Numbers Don't Lie is a MultimediaLIVE production