WATCH | Geordin Hill-Lewis sets ambitious target of leading national government by 2029

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has been elected as the leader of the DA, replacing minister of agriculture John Steenhuisen, vowing to make the party the largest party in South Africa in the 2029 general elections.

The vote, concluded at the DA’s federal congress on Sunday, hands Hill-Lewis the reins of the second-largest party in South Africa’s government of national unity (GNU).

With local government elections just months away, Hill-Lewis urged the party to set its sights on winning Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Durban, framing those contests as the first steps toward the 2029 national elections.

“In 2029, our people will once again choose the national government that leads this country. That is our chance to restore hope in South Africa as a whole and build the country we all know in our hearts is possible,” he said in his closing address.

“Because, I don’t know about you, but I am not satisfied with being a junior partner in a government of national unity.”

The DA holds six ministerial and six deputy ministerial posts in the GNU, giving the party meaningful influence over economic and governance policy in the 10-party coalition led by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Steenhuisen, who will remain in cabinet as agriculture minister, was instrumental in negotiating the DA’s entry into the GNU after the ANC’s loss of its parliamentary majority in the May 2024 general elections.

Hill-Lewis inherits a party that has grown its parliamentary footprint but faces pressure to demonstrate tangible policy wins from its participation in government.

“Our ambition must be to lead the national government. That is the next chapter in our party’s proud history. And we will write it together,” Hill-Lewis said.

Gauteng DA leader Solly Msimanga has been elected as the federal chairperson.

Deputy finance minister Asor Sarupen has been elected federal council chairperson, replacing Helen Zille. He will be deputised by three others: JP Smith, Thomas Walters and Carl Pophaim.

The DA also elected three deputy federal chairpersons: Solly Malatsi, who is minister of communications & digital technologies; basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube; and former Tshwane mayor Cillers Brink.

• This story has been updated with new information.

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