The DA says party leader, Helen Zille, had more than delivered on her promise to build the opposition and grow the DA into a diverse party.
That's according to the party's chairperson of the Federal Executive, James Selfe.
He paid tribute to Zille after she announced on Sunday that she would not be seeking re-election at the DA's Federal Congress in Port Elizabeth next month.
Selfe said Zille Helen has an outstanding track record in government and had been voted World Mayor of the year during her tenure as Mayor of Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Zille said her decision was timed to avoid drawing the DA into a debilitating contest for the top spot at the Federal Congress.
She said that would deflect attention away from the party’s core functions, which inevitably happens when a leadership race drags out for long periods of time.
Zille said she would continue working tirelessly to consolidate democracy in South Africa which she says has been her life's work.
She will remain Premier of the Western Cape until 2019.
