DA leader John Steenhuisen 'won’t seek reelection'

Key topics:DA leader John Steenhuisen plans to step down amid internal party pressureLeadership change adds uncertainty to SA’s GNU; Hill-Lewis seen as frontrunnerRand weakens as markets react to rising political uncertainty.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By S'thembile Cele.The leader of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance, a key member of the nation’s ruling coalition, plans to step down at the end of his current term after facing pressure within the party to quit. The rand weakened.John Steenhuisen, who has headed the DA since 2019, won’t stand for reelection at a party conference in April, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. A formal announcement is expected to be made as soon as Wednesday, they said.His departure would create fresh uncertainty for South Africa’s fractious 10-party government of national unity, or GNU, which was formed after the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority in 2024 elections. It would also pave the way for Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to stand as DA leader..Read more:.DA's John Steenhuisen hits back over Andrew Whitfield firing.The rand pared a gain of as much as 1.1% to trade 0.8% stronger at 15.96 per dollar by 7.45 p.m. in Johannesburg.“Markets don’t like anything that can be interpreted as increasing political uncertainty, but I think there’s some relief that it isn’t a conflict with the ANC, that it seems to be an internal DA issue,” said Henrik Gullberg, a macro strategist at Coex Partners. “Having said that, anything that could undermine the stability of the GNU and the reform-focused DA is likely to be initially ZAR negative, at least until there is more detail on the replacement.”Steenhuisen, 49, also serves as South Africa’s agriculture minister, one of six DA members in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet. While Steenhuisen said by text message that he won’t resign from the position, he said he couldn’t comment on whether or not he’ll stand for reelection before nominations open on Feb. 24.“Until you see me outlining the full set of facts tomorrow, avoid speculation,” he said in a post on X. The briefing is scheduled for 10 a.m. South Africa time on Wednesday.The DA leader has faced pressure within his party to quit amid differences over policy choices within the coalition government. He’s also faced criticism from the DA’s key constituents, including farmers who are unhappy with his handling of a deadly outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Steenhuisen has also had to implement a policy that gives preference to those with Black-economic-empowerment credentials when securing export permits to the European Union.Rising StarHill-Lewis, 39, is considered a rising star within the DA and some of its members and backers have been lobbying for him to take over as leader. That campaign gained momentum after Steenhuisen became embroiled in a public spat with the party’s finance chief and was implicated in misusing a credit card — although an internal probe cleared him of wrongdoing.Other potential successors include Solly Malatsi, the communications minister, and Siviwe Gwarube, the basic education minister. In an interview on Monday, Hill-Lewis said he would “very seriously” consider running for the top DA post if Steenhuisen didn’t stand.He ruled out joining the national cabinet, saying he intends to seek a second term as Cape Town mayor in local government elections that must be held within the next 12 months — and that he could hold both jobs concurrently. He’s previously said he’ll support the DA’s continued participation in the government, though the terms of engagement would have to be improved.The DA garnered 22% support in the last national vote in 2024 and has governed Cape Town since 2006. Hill-Lewis was appointed as mayor in 2021, the youngest appointee to the post in the country’s post-apartheid history. The city, a tourist mecca, is widely viewed as the best-run of the country’s eight large metropolitan areas..© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

DA leader John Steenhuisen 'won’t seek reelection'

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