Johannesburg - Internal conflict engulfing the DA's top leadership will harm the opposition's electoral prospects ahead of the 2021 local elections.
This is according to political analysts who said the internal push to oust party leader Mmusi Maimane would alienate more black voters who supported or considered backing it. This comes as the fight for the control of the DA is brewing with Maimane's detractors pressuring him out of his top post.
According to a Sunday Times report, former DA leader Tony Leon was among a delegation which included party funders who approached Maimane to ask him to resign.
Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana of the University of Johannesburg said should Maimane be successfully removed and replaced with someone else, this would be tantamount to making the party white again.
“Part of the problem for the DA is that even though (former leader) Helen Zille changed the face of the party when she came in with several individuals, the DA’s policy content lagged. They were very averse to issues of racial redress and when Mmusi came, he made race part of the mainstay of his leadership,” he said.