By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially announced candidates for leadership roles ahead of the 2026 DA Federal Congress next month.
The congress, to be held on the weekend of 11 and 12 April, will not only elect leaders, but will also vote on resolutions and amendments.
The nominations for leadership candidates opened on 27 February 2026 and closed on Monday, 23 March 2026.
In terms of clause 6.1.4 of the DA Federal Constitution, Federal Congress is responsible for electing the Federal Leader, the Federal Chairperson, and three Deputy Federal Chairpersons.
The incumbent party leader, John Steenhuisen, and the chair of the Federal Council, Helen Zille, will not be running for re-election.
Here is the list of nominations that have been vetted and found to be compliant:
For Three Deputy Federal Chairpersons:
— Brink, Cilliers
— Echeozonjoku, Belinda
— Gwarube, Siviwe
— Malatsi, Solly
— Marais, Anroux
— Mbombo, Nomafrench
— Nyati, Nicholas
For Federal Chairperson:
— Meyer, Ivan
— Msimanga, Solly
For Federal Leader of the DA:
— Dyonase, Sibusiso
— Hill-Lewis, Geordin
DA congress spokesperson Nazley Sharif said: “It is very exciting that positions within the DA leadership are being highly contested. It shows that democracy and internal contestation is healthy in the DA, this is how democracy works.”
Sharif said, those who want to submit any media query for any candidate running at Federal Congress, this dedicated email address can be used: FedCon26Media@da.org.za.
Meanwhile ActionSA has filed a formal complaint with the Public Protector and Parliament’s Ethics Committee over explosive allegations that senior DA leaders may have received secret “top-up” payments from their party
In a leaked internal report, John Steenhuisen, the Minister of Agriculture, and Ashor Sarupen, the Deputy Minister of Finance, may have been receiving regular, structured payments linked to their roles within the DA.
Steenhuisen receives R58 344 gross per month; this amount equaled his salary to that of a premier.
Cabinet ministers already earn about R230 000 a month. With the additional R39 560 paid by the DA, Steenhuisen’s earnings move into a bracket comparable to that of the deputy president. Sarupen each receive R50 000 a month before deductions, deputy ministers take home roughly R190 000 monthly before benefits.
The confidential leaked report, signed by the DA’s former federal finance chairperson, Dr Dion George, reveals that several senior DA leaders, including Sarupen, are receiving substantial financial top-ups in addition to their government salaries.
The list includes several DA figures, such as former Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, MP Werner Horn, head of policy Mathew Cuthbert, parliamentary chief whip George Michalakis, and uMngeni Mayor Chris Pappas.
These top-up payments, according to ActionSA, are in clear violation of Section 96 of the South African Constitution, which unambiguously prohibits members of the executive from undertaking any other paid work.
Lerato Ngobeni, ActionSA’s Parliamentary Chief Whip, said if confirmed, this would amount to a striking situation in which members of the executive are effectively being paid twice: once by South African public taxpayers and again by their political party.
“One would expect that the lavish, billion-rand perks of being a Minister or Deputy Minister would suffice for the DA’s public representatives, but apparently, they do not.”
Ngobeni also pointed out that these top-up payments were not declared as additional work or remuneration in the Register of Members’ Interests.
During the 2024 elections, the party garnered 6,961,361 votes or 21.81%, largely from voters in Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng. If the party wants to control the government outright in 2029, it would need to not only defend its current voter base, but also increase support across the country.