Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in the Western Cape, Bonginkosi Madikizela, says the party will elect a new mayor of Cape Town within the next month.
Madikizela insists he is not in the running for the position.
Current mayor Patricia de Lille resigned on Sunday, she will remain in office until the end of October.
De Lille’s resignation follows drawn out legal battles with the DA. Madikizela says prospective candidates for her replacement can submit their applications. Those short-listed will appear before a selection panel. The new mayor will take up the position from the first of November.
Madikizela says there’s no preferred candidate at this stage.
“The selection panel to elect the mayor is convened by the chairperson of the federal council and then we’ll call people to appear before the panel and they will be interviewed and the most suitable candidate will succeed the mayor and we are hoping to complete that particular process within a month from now,” says Madikizela.
The DA is disputing De Lille’s claims that she did not reach an agreement with the party to vacate her position. This after she tweeted that she resigned because she could no longer endure the abuse she was experiencing from within the party.
Madikizela says, “After lengthy discussions between her and the federal leader we agreed to reach a settlement. The word settlement is in the statement that was read out on Sunday together with the federal leader. I’m surprised to hear some of the things that are coming out after that. I think it’s for her to clarify some of those things not for the party and I think we’ve made our views known as the party that we’re very happy that we reached that settlement.”
De Lille says her integrity is intact because she has not been proven or found guilty of anything and the principle that you remain innocent until proven guilty remains, “I’ve been able to clear my name and I hope to move forward now.”
Some political analysts say the agreement between De Lille and the DA has raised more questions than answers.
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