DA announces candidates for Provincial Congress

The Congress will be attended by 1 200 delegates from 414 branches in Gauteng who will participate in the elections for the Provincial Leadership and debate the direction of the part in the province.

At the close of the nomination process, the candidates for political office were:

Provincial Leader

* John Moodey MPL: Moodey is the incumbent Provincial Leader of the DA in Gauteng and has been a member of the Provincial Legislature since 2004.

* Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL: Nt’sekhe is the former Provincial spokesperson of the DA in Gauteng, and was elected to the Provincial Legislature in 2014 after serving as a ward councillor in Ekurhuleni.

Provincial Chairperson

* Solly Msimanga MPL: Msimanga serves as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and is the current chairperson of DA Gauteng North Region, a position he got elected for in 2011. He was elected as a councillor in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, and a caucus chairperson in 2011. In 2008, he participated in the DA’s young leader programme. Msimanga is uncontested for the position of Provincial chairperson, and as such is the Provincial Chairperson Elect.

While the Chairperson position is not contested, four candidates are contesting for the Deputy Chairperson position.

Deputy Provincial Chairperson

* Michele Clarke MPL: Clarke joined the DA in 1998 and was elected a member of the DA Gauteng Legislature after the 2014 elections; she is the current shadow MEC for community safety in Gauteng. Her previous positions include serving as the ward councillor for ward 20 in Ekurhuleni, the DA Spokesperson on Community Safety and as both a Whip and Deputy Chief Whip of the DA Caucus in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.

* Clr Hannes Coetzee: Coetzee is the current ward councillor for ward 96 in the Tshwane Municipality; he won the ward from the ANC in 2011. Coetzee serves as the Deputy Spokesperson of Community Safety and as a Constituency Chairperson. Coetzee has a Masters Degree in Theology and Leadership.

* Clr Vasco Da Gama: Da Gama is currently the DA Caucus Leader in Johannesburg and has had roles ranging from an activist to councillor, while being represented at various levels of the party. He is the current Association of Democratic Alliance Councillors (ADAC) National Chairperson.

* Clr Shelley Loe: Loe has served as a Member of the Provincial Legislature for the term 1999 to 2004 and a DA Member of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces for the term 2004 to 2009. Loe has served in various roles relating to campaigns at both a national and provincial level and led the Ekurhuleni Caucus where she currently serves as a PR councillor.

“The DA in Gauteng looks forward to what will be an exciting event where our structures will debate policies, make resolutions to steer the party towards the 2016 Local Government Elections and elect the Provincial Leadership,” says DA Provincial chairperson, Mike Moriarty.

“It is the strength of our local structures and their commitment to these processes that makes the DA in Gauteng succeed.”

This year the theme of the Provincial Congress is ‘Ready to Serve’ as the party gears itself towards the Local Government Election in 2016. – @IschkeBoksburg