Port Elizabeth - Delegates at the Democratic Alliance’s elective congress in Port Elizabeth were likely to know who the new party leader was after lunchtime on Sunday.
Voting took place early in the morning, with 1 283 delegates having cast their ballots out of the 1 379 registered for voting – a 93 percent turnout rate.
In terms of party rules, active campaigning ceased at midnight.
DA parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane remains the frontrunner for the job, despite a concerted effort at the weekend by his biggest challenger, outgoing federal chairman Wilmot James, to sway voters.
On Saturday, James tried unsuccessfully to remove entire clauses from the party’s new values charter, which would be incorporated into the DA’s constitution, objecting to the importance of family.
James objected to this as a departure from liberalism’s focus on the individual, but he was overruled.
The other two contenders for the post are ordinary party members Adrian Naidoo and Morgan Oliphant.
Maimane backer Athol Trollip was tipped as the favourite to take the position of federal chairman, going up against MP Makashule Gana and Masizole Mnqasela, an MPL in the Western Cape.
Voting results for the position of DA leader, federal chairman, three deputy federal chairpersons, federal council chair, deputy council chair, and chair of the federal finance committee would be announced between 1pm and 2pm.
A media briefing by the new leadership would follow directly after.
ANA