Geordin Hill-Lewis, the mayor of Cape Town, is expected to announce on Friday he will seek to succeed John Steenhuisen as DA federal leader.
This as the DA, the second-largest party in the government of national unity (GNU), formally opens nominations for its internal leadership contest scheduled for April.
Certification of the voters’ roll on March 6 will be closely watched by insiders, as delegate composition can materially influence the outcome in a party where provincial structures wield significant sway.
Nominations close on March 23. The narrow window leaves candidates about three weeks to secure branch endorsements and lock in provincial backing before the delegates gather in Johannesburg in April.
The DA is heading into a leadership transition after federal leader Steenhuisen announced he will step down, triggering a contest before the party’s federal congress in April. With Steenhuisen and federal council chair Helen Zille not contesting, the party faces two vacancies in its top leadership structures.
Hill-Lewis has served as mayor since 2021 after a decade in parliament and governs the DA’s most secure metropolitan stronghold with a stable majority.
His entry into the race carries implications beyond the internal balance of power within the party. Cape Town is not only the DA’s flagship municipality but also the administrative and political centre of the Western Cape, the only province the party governs outright.
All DA Western Cape mayoral candidate positions have closed. Mayoral candidate interviews are under way and will be announced as soon as the process is concluded and signed off by FedEx (federal executive committee). We recently announced the first eight DA mayoral candidates and will do the other 22 as soon as possible after the full process has concluded. The City of Cape Town falls under the 22.
— Jaco Londt, Western Cape provincial chairperson
The city serves as the party’s primary demonstration of governance capacity, fiscal management and service delivery, particularly in contrast to ANC-led metros.
Western Cape provincial chairperson Jaco Londt told Business Day the provincial structure had concluded its internal mayoral candidate processes ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
“All DA Western Cape mayoral candidate positions have closed. Mayoral candidate interviews are under way and will be announced as soon as the process is concluded and signed off by FedEx (federal executive committee). We recently announced the first eight DA mayoral candidates and will do the other 22 as soon as possible after the full process has concluded. The City of Cape Town falls under the 22,” he said.
His remarks signal the party’s municipal succession planning is proceeding on schedule, even as attention shifts to the federal leadership contest.
If Hill-Lewis were elected federal leader, the central question would be whether he remains as mayor or relocates to national politics. A departure would trigger a succession process in the City council and could open space for internal contestation within the DA caucus.
Though the party retains a majority, leadership transitions in a metro of Cape Town’s scale and budget can unsettle administrative continuity.
Hill-Lewis has indicated his preference would be to remain in the City and, if elected, to hold both roles.
This timing is significant ahead of the 2026 local government elections. The DA is expected to campaign heavily on its record in Cape Town and the broader Western Cape.
For opposition parties in the metro, any transition may present an opportunity to test the DA’s cohesion at local level. For the DA, the strategic calculation is whether consolidating national leadership under a sitting mayor strengthens its hand within the government of national unity and ahead of the next municipal poll, or whether it risks destabilising its strongest governance asset.
In that sense, Hill-Lewis’s potential candidacy intersects directly with succession planning in South Africa’s largest DA-run city and with the party’s longer-term positioning in national coalition politics and the forthcoming local electoral cycle.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.