The DA’s Federal Council met yesterday, 27 January, to finalise our Candidate Nomination Regulations in preparation for the upcoming local government elections.
This is the culmination of a six-month process during which DA provincial and regional structures submitted proposals to improve and streamline the party’s candidate nomination regulations, following the general election last May.
The DA Federal Council also adopted new Candidate Nomination Regulations, ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections.
With the revised regulations, the DA today announces that applications will officially open on 01 February 2025, for aspirant candidates who share the DA’s values and are committed to serving their community.
We are looking for skilled South Africans who have an interest in rescuing the towns and cities in which they live, from mismanagement and decay, and who are committed to undertaking the responsibility of the critical work of a Local Government Councillor.
Local governments across the country, governed by parties other than the DA, face a dire crisis of collapsing services, financial mismanagement and decay. It is possible to rescue these municipalities with hardworking, committed councillors part of a new local government led by a party with tested policies and track-record.
This year, for the first time and in parallel to the general Candidate Application process, the DA will also be running a programme for 77 aspirant individuals who were invited to join a year-long in-depth course to prepare them to compete in the candidate nomination process. We call this the “Catalyst Programme” and its participants were selected and invited in September 2024.
The calibre of our candidates will be decisive in our ability to rescue local governments across South Africa.
The next step in the DA’s Election preparations ahead of the upcoming Local Government Election will be the selection of mayoral candidates for strategic Metros across the country.
We will open applications for aspirant Mayoral Candidates on 01 March 2025. Unlike many other parties, the DA selects and runs Mayoral Candidates seriously, where we are convinced that we have a serious chance of winning, or forming a new local government.
The DA is a growing party, and we aim to be the biggest party in Metro municipalities in South Africa after the upcoming elections. This will enable us to do the difficult but crucial work of stopping the rot and pulling South Africa’s towns and cities back from the brink.
It is crucial for voters to realise that their choice of municipal councillors fundamentally affects the way they live and that capable candidates are the key to securing the future of all citizens.