Raring to ‘Grow’ — De Lille’s Good party in ‘precarious position’ in run-up to first elective conference

Good Party Protesters with Patricia de Lille during the Electricity Tariffs Must Fall Protest at Cape Town Civic Centre on 25 August 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: Gallo Images/Ziyaad Douglas)

By Suné Payne

9 Nov 2023

This weekend, the Good party will host its elective conference in Cape Town as it embarks on its next ‘growth phase’.

About 500 members of the Good party will gather in Cape Town on 10 and 11 November for its first elective conference.

The conference at City Hall will be themed “Unleashing the Power of our Vote – #Good2Grow” and will build on the party’s foundation to position Good as an independent and constructive opposition voice, with representation at all levels of government.

Patricia de Lille will stand unchallenged for party leader, while positions including chairperson, secretary-general and deputy secretary-general will all be contested by at least two candidates each.

Explaining the voting process, current secretary-general Brett Herron told Daily Maverick: “The delegates will vote by secret ballot on a preprinted ballot. The elections are being conducted by the Elexions Agency, an independent elections agency. Each delegate will get to cast one vote per candidate and the candidate with the majority of the votes will be elected. There will be no nominations from the floor.”

Good party supporters with leader Patricia de Lille at the Electricity Tariffs Must Fall protest at the Cape Town Civic Centre on 25 August 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Ziyaad Douglas)

Herron said the conference would include a report from De Lille, an organisational report from himself, debates around proposed party constitutional amendments, and a review of policies with the adoption of some amendments or new policy positions on, for example, foreign policy and the LGBTQIA+ community.

During the party’s first election campaign in 2019 it gained two seats in Parliament and one in the Western Cape legislature.

RISE Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi will be guest speaker at the conference.

List of Candidates

Independent polling analyst Wayne Sussman told Daily Maverick the party was in a precarious position, with the Patriotic Alliance emerging as a viable alternative to Good for former DA voters. Then there were independent candidates such as Zackie Achmat, who would campaign on a social justice ticket.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Elections 2024

“So, Good finds itself having unique challenges and I think it’s going to have to double down on its credentials as a party that cares about social justice and social democratic values and then again become relevant and a realistic option for voters, particularly in the Western Cape, which is where they draw their majority of support,” he said.

“I think they want to emerge from here convincing South African voters, particularly Western Cape voters, that they are still a party to be reckoned with and they are still a party that can play a role in the future of South Africa and Western Cape politics.” DM

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