The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) electoral process for the party’s top leadership position will come to a head this weekend as contenders, Dr Wilmot James and Mmusi Maimane face off in a bid to replace outgoing party leader, Helen Zille. The two squared off on Monday in a much talked about televised public debate; a move that could potentially boost the party’s support ahead of next year’s local government elections.

Maimane is widely speculated to be the front runner for the position, however he has come under some criticism for what many perceive as ‘fence-sitting’ on several controversial issues, gay marriage included, during the debate. Analysts have attributed this to a possible identity crisis within the DA itself, limiting Maimane’s ability to answer in a manner that would be in line with the party’s current policies.

But speaking to VOC’s Breakfast Beat on Thursday, he described such criticism as unfair, insisting that during the debate he had categorically stated his support in favour of gay marriage in particular.

“I said that I’ve always been supportive thereof…so I don’t think there must be a debate on that,” he stressed.

Another issue of some contention has been that of the death penalty. Amidst an increase in media reports on brutal murders, there have been increased calls for it to be re-instated. But whilst it was possible for South African’s to demand a referendum to provide arguments as to why the death penalty should be brought back, the move was ultimately not in line with his own views. He stressed that the “right to life” was first and foremost.

Maimane also sought to address the DA’s current stance on the National Development Plan (NDP), noting that many policies listed therein were very much in line with the party’s current policies. These included arguments for small business development, a market friendly economy, and developed education and healthcare sectors amongst others. Whilst the party were not entirely in agreement with everything detailed in the NDP, he acknowledged and reiterated that the document did support many of the DA’s own policies.

“As we continue to grow as a party, we’ll be able to put forth a vision for South African’s that says that this is how the various aspects of society must work. I think that process is quite exciting, and I look forward for us to be able to say that this is our vision, and this is what South Africa will look like,” he said.

As far as the political sphere is concerned, Maimane, at 34, is considered relatively young in the field having only been a part of the DA for around four years. He was however keen to point out this his opposition, Wilmot James, had roughly the same amount of years and experience in politics. As for what he could bring to the table, Maimane said he would bring with him experience in business, NGO and academic fields as well.

“I think it is a great opportunity. It is of course a daunting task; a massive organisation with massive resources and staff, but I believe we have an opportunity to take this party forward. I believe we can grow this party, I believe we can grow into new markets, and we can be the alternative for South Africans to look at and say that this is a party that could one day govern nationally,” he said.

The DA has received much appraisal over the transparency it has shown in the run-in for its top leadership spot, something that has been few and far between in the broader sense of South African politics. Maimane said their goal in the long run was to set an agenda and precedent that would highlight the concept of democracy being ‘by the people, and for the people’.

“In a world where we are faced with issues like xenophobia and unemployment, what about tomorrow? Let’s all campaign and speak about a tomorrow that we can all be a part of,” he said. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)