Ido Lekota
Ido Lekota
DA national chairman Joe Seremane believes the outcome of next year's elections could result in a non-ANC president voted into power by a coalition of opposition parties.
Speaking to Sowetan following the party's re-launch at Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg at the weekend, Seremane said coalitions were the future of South African politics.
"If managed correctly, a coalition of the various smaller parties could see South Africa having a president who is not from the ANC.
"This depends entirely on the parties agreeing on a single candidate," Seremane said.
He said his party's re-launch was part of a drive "to move out of its comfort zones and campaign in its non-traditional power bases".
"The reality is that as South Africans we still have hang-ups about swartgevaar and fearing that certain parties will take us back into apartheid days. The DA seeks to transcend all these barriers and move towards full integration," he said.
On Saturday, DA leader Helen Zille said the party's new logo - the sun rising over the Rainbow Nation - "represents our dream of an open-opportunity society for all".
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe dismissed Seremane's view.