Helen Zille eligible to contest top DA post

The DA has rubbished claims that it is seeking legal advice to ascertain if a former party leader was eligible to stand for the position of chairperson of the federal council.

Desiree Van Der Walt - presiding officer of federal council elections - said in a statement that all candidates vying for the post had been fully vetted and meet the criteria to stand as a candidate.

“The Democratic Alliance (DA) has taken note of incorrect reports, which state that the party is seeking a legal opinion on the eligibility of one of the candidates standing for the position of federal council chairperson.“We wish to dismiss this notion.”

“As the presiding officer, I am satisfied that all those who have been nominated have been fully vetted and meet the criteria to stand as candidate of chairperson of federal council.

“In this light, we wish to remind all the candidates and their campaign teams of the rules of engagement, which preclude candidates from negative campaigning,” Van der Walt said.

Her statement followed reports that the party was seeking legal advice on whether Zille could contest the position of federal chair as she had previously signed a settlement with the DA that she would step down from all structures following her comments on social media that colonialism was not all negative.

The four candidates contesting the position are Zille, Athol Trollip, Thomas Walters and Mike Waters.

Van der Walt said: “We trust that all the candidates... will campaign on their own credentials and their offer of building a party that espouses the values of Freedom, Fairness, Opportunity and Diversity, with a vision of Building One South Africa for All”.