Although the Democratic Alliance of South Africa in its present form is fairly new, its roots can be traced far back in South African political history, through a complex sequence of splits and mergers.
Daniel Plato, known as Dan Plato, is a South African politician and a former Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. He served from June 2011 until October 2018 and again from January 2022 until February 2024. He is the former mayor of Cape Town, a position he held for two nonconsecutive terms from May 2009 until June 2011 and again from November 2018 until October 2021. From June 2011 to October 2018, he was the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Community Safety.
Manny Simão Franca de Freitas is a South African politician, and former Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance, was appointed as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Transport from 2009 to 2012, Shadow Minister of Home Affairs from 2012 to 2014 and Shadow Minister of Transport in 2014, a position he held until the end of term in 2019.
Makashule Gana is a South African politician who is the chief organiser for RISE Mzansi. He previously served as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the opposition Democratic Alliance. Between 2014 and 2016 he was a member of the National Assembly, where he was Shadow Minister of Human Settlements. Gana also served as the Deputy Federal Chairperson of the DA until 2015. He was previously leader of the DA Youth and DA councillor in the City of Johannesburg, he holds a BSc degree and is currently registered for a Postgraduate Diploma in Management at the Wits Business School.
Solly Tshepiso Msimanga is a South African politician serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since May 2019. He has been a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since February 2019, having previously served from 2014 to 2016. Msimanga was the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality from 2016 to 2019 and the DA Provincial Chairperson from 2014 to 2017. He is currently the Democratic Alliance's Gauteng Premier candidate for the 2024 elections. Msimanga was the party's unsuccessful candidate for the 2019 elections.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Good is a South African political party that was formed in December 2018. It is led by its founder Patricia de Lille, current Minister of Tourism and former mayor of Cape Town, who is also the party's sole member in the National Assembly. The party's stronghold is the Western Cape and mainly draws support from the Coloured community.
Nomafrench Mbombo is a South African academic and politician who has been a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since 2014, representing the Democratic Alliance. She previously served as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport from 2014 to 2015 and as the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Health from 2015 until 2024. Mbombo was the Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance Women's Network from 2018 to 2021.
Thomas Charles Ravenscroft Walters is a South African politician of the Democratic Alliance (DA) who has been serving as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament since May 2024. Previously, he served as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2014 and then as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from 2014 until 2024. In 2012, Walters was elected Deputy Federal Council Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, and has been deputising Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille since 2019. He deputised James Selfe from 2012 to 2019. Walters was the party's Shadow Minister and Shadow Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties registering candidates were:
John Clifford Moodey is a South African politician who is currently serving a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on behlaf of ActionSA.
Philippus Adriaan van Staden, known as Philip van Staden, is a South African politician from Gauteng. He has been serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) since 2019. He previously represented the FF+ in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2014 to 2019. Van Staden was a municipal councillor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2014.
Ashor Sarupen is a South African politician who is serving as Deputy Minister of Finance since 30 June 2024. He is a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Democratic Alliance (DA), after having taken office on 22 May 2019. He was a representative of the party on both the Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Standing Committee on Finance. He also served as chief of staff to DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille, and presently serves as her Parliamentary Counsellor. He previously served as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2014 to 2019 and before that, he was the Democratic Alliance Chief Whip and City Councillor in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2014.
Refiloe Nt'sekhe is a South African politician who has been a Member of the Provincial Legislature since 2014. She served as Deputy Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from June to July 2024. A member of the Democratic Alliance, she served as one of the party's deputy federal chairpersons between 2015 and 2023 and as one of the party's national spokespeople between 2015 and 2020.
Jack Bloom is a South African politician who has been a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since 1994, representing the Democratic Party from 1994 until 2003 and the Democratic Alliance from 2003 onwards. Bloom is the DA's shadow MEC for health. Bloom was the DA caucus leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the provincial legislature from December 2007 to April 2009 and again from March 2011 until May 2014.
Tsepo Winston Mhlongo is a South African politician. As a member of the Democratic Alliance, he served as a councillor in the City of Johannesburg until the 2014 national election, when he was elected to the National Assembly of South Africa. After that, he was appointed Shadow Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. Mhlongo became the Shadow Minister of Sport and Recreation in January 2017 before he was selected to be Shadow Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in June 2019. On 1 December 2023, Mhlongo was expelled from the DA and lost his parliamentary membership. He has since joined ActionSA.
Douglas Harvey Monro Gibson is a South African retired attorney, politician and diplomat who served as South Africa's ambassador to Thailand between 2008 and 2012. Previously, he had served as chief whip of the opposition from 1999 to 2007, as chairperson of the federal council of the Democratic Party between 1997 and 2000, and as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa between 1994 and 2008.
Mokhaugelo Solomon Chabalala is a South African politician and a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the Democratic Alliance.
Mervyn Hyman Cirota is a South African politician who serves as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the Democratic Alliance. He is an attorney by profession.
Kgosientsho David "Sputla" Ramokgopa is a South African politician who was the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity from 2023, and the Minister of Electricity and Energy from 3 July 2024. He was the Mayor of Tshwane from 2010 to 2016. He was also a Member of the Executive Council in the Gauteng provincial government in 2019 and worked in the Presidency of South Africa as head of infrastructure from 2019 to 2023.
