DA announces candidate list for 2014 election
Note to editors: This press statement by DA Leader Helen Zille, was distributed to media at a press conference held in Johannesburg, Gauteng today. The list of the DA's 2014 election candidates can be found here.
Today, the Democratic Alliance presents our candidate lists for the 2014 national and provincial elections. Our lists for this election represent the most diverse, young and dynamic team that the DA has ever presented to the country.
Most of our new candidates have emerged through the ranks of our party, some have joined us from other parties, and others applied via our public advertisements. All our candidates are committed to the DA's values and share our vision of an open, opportunity society for all.
Each candidate has undergone a gruelling, multi-layered assessment and selection process over the last 6 months. Our selection process was rigorous and fair. Our Electoral Colleges and Selection Panels from across the country had a difficult task deciding among a pool of candidates of exceptionally high quality.
1 432 aspirant candidates originally applied. This is evidence of the DA's enormous growth over the last few years and the desire for change across South Africa.
Our successful candidates are drawn from every community and walk of life in. Each one of them has demonstrated a commitment to serving their country. For them, public service is a vocation, not a career.
Our lists also include the DA's nine provincial Premier Candidates, who we are very proud to announce today. We believe it is important that every voter knows who their Premier would be if the DA was elected to govern in their province.
There will be many who are disappointed not to see their names on these lists today. That is the nature of electoral democracy. But to those who did not make it this time, we say ‘thank you' for your commitment and hard work. In a rapidly expanding party, there will be many more opportunities in the future. And most importantly, in the DA there are many ways to contribute to public service.
There are also candidates whose identities we cannot yet reveal because they are presently still in a different political party or organisation. They are in the process of informing their leadership and resigning from their positions.
We could not invite all of our candidates to be here today, but in the limited time available we invited a group of our candidates to be a part of this announcement. The group of candidates with us today are a cross section of our candidate lists. All of them have ended the process very high on their respective provincial lists, and will almost assuredly be Members of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures. Their brief biographies are included in your information pack.
We are of course delighted at the exceptional group of people that now forms our candidate team for the 2014 election. They are the DA's team that will change South Africa in the coming years. They are talented, energetic and committed.
We are very proud, and pleased, to be able to offer this team to South Africa.
The DA's Premier Candidates:
Western Cape: Helen Zille
Gauteng: Mmusi Maimane
Northern Cape: Andrew Louw
Free State: Patricia Kopane
North West: Chris Hattingh
Kwa Zulu-Natal: Sizwe Mchunu
Eastern Cape: Athol Trollip
Limpopo: Langa Bodlani
Mpumalanga: Anthony Benadie
Statement issued by DA leader, Helen Zille, January 25 2014
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