By Douglas Gibson
Many aspects of life have changed since the world was hit by the Covid19 pandemic.
One of these is the holding of meetings and conferences. Many of us have had to get used to attending virtual meetings, enabling some semblance of normal life and business to continue, with dozens and sometimes hundreds of people able to join in.
Many organisers of conferences may never return to the old way of doing things, because of the huge savings in travelling time, travelling cost, catering and hotel costs.
Major political parties, like the ANC and the DA, customarily hold congresses every couple of years, attended by several thousand delegates, costing the party millions of rand.
This year is different.
The DA will be holding its Federal Congress on Saturday and Sunday. The party describes it as “South Africa’s largest ever virtual Congress”. It will be attended by 2 000 delegates, many on line, but many others from remote collection points.
Each delegate will be sent a secret code that will enable them to dial in, participate and cast a secret ballot.
A “dry-run” was held a week ago, attended by nearly 1 000 delegates, the purpose of which was to ensure all the systems operated flawlessly and where there were problems, to resolve those immediately and well before the congress.
Unlike many other political parties, the DA believes in open elections. Contrast this, for example, with Herman Mashaba’s new party where he appoints everyone from the top down.
Many observers were surprised that the talented and dynamic interim DA leader, John Steenhuisen, who became a national political figure during his term as chief whip of the opposition in Parliament, is being opposed by a young provincial MPL from KwaZulu-Natal, Mbali Ntuli. Something like that would be unthinkable in the ANC. Imagine if a virtually unknown provincial politician had the guts to challenge Cyril Ramaphosa for the leadership of the ANC.
In the DA, Ntuli’s candidature is not overly remarkable. The party likes feisty, young people with charisma and ideas, not afraid to try to map out a future for the DA and the country. It would be a major surprise if she won.
The fact is that she is not qualified to lead the opposition and go toe to toe with the president and members of the Cabinet. She has not served one day in Parliament and is not even a regional or provincial leader.
However, the mere fact she is standing for office has stretched Steenhuisen and ensured he has travelled throughout the country to address formations of the DA.
After a somewhat rocky start and a few mis-steps that alienated some, Ntuli has fought a good campaign and won a lot of support. There is no reason why she should not be a significant contender to succeed Steenhuisen in a few years. If a miracle happens and she becomes the leader, she will be entitled to the loyalty and the support of all in the DA.
The joint presiding officers for the election at the congress, MP Greg Krumbock and MP Desiree van der Walt, appear confident the whole process will work properly and fairly, ensuring an election that meets the highest standards of democracy.
South Africans will watch with interest to see if this big experiment of a virtual congress is a success.
Douglas Gibson, a former DA chief whip and a former ambassador to Thailand.
The Star