John Steenhuisen of Democratic Alliance Exits Leadership Race Amid Party Challenges

Wed Feb 04 2026 16:34:19 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

John Steenhuisen, the leader of South Africa's Democratic Alliance, has announced he will not seek re-election. This decision raises questions about the future stability of the coalition government as the party navigates internal challenges.

John Steenhuisen, who has led South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA) since 2019, will not run for re-election in April. His departure is seen as a potential threat to the coalition government's stability, especially following the DA's historic alliance with the African National Congress after the latter lost its majority. Steenhuisen's decision comes amid controversies and fallout within the party, leaving the direction of the DA uncertain.

South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has said he will not seek re-election as the party's leader in April - a move that may threaten the stability of the coalition government.

The DA, South Africa's second-largest party, entered into a historic coalition with its arch-rival, the African National Congress (ANC), in 2024 after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority.

Steenhuisen took over leadership of the pro-business DA in 2019 and currently serves as agriculture minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa's government.

The 49-year-old was widely expected to run again but was reportedly forced to abandon his bid because of several controversies.

For the rest of this term of office, I will focus all of my time and energy as minister of agriculture on defeating the most devastating foot-and-mouth disease outbreak our country has ever seen, he told a press conference.

Steenhuisen began his political career at age 22 when he was elected to the council of the port city of Durban for the Democratic Party, the DA's predecessor.

He rose through the party's local and then regional leadership before becoming party leader two decades later.

It was widely reported that he would run unopposed for the leadership at the DA at its upcoming conference in April. But it seems a variety of issues led to his decision not to do so, including his fallout with another senior DA member, ex-Environment Affairs Minister Dion George, and allegations, of which he was cleared in January, that he had abused his party credit card.

He has also been criticized for his handling of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, with farmers accusing his department of being an obstacle in a crisis, according to South Africa's News24 website.

The country has struggled over the past four years to contain the highly infectious virus that has now spread to most of the country's provinces - badly affecting the livestock industry.

It causes blisters inside an animal's mouth and under their hooves, leading to lameness and problems feeding; in dairy cows, it results in lost milk yields and a permanent reduction in the animals' value.