Judgement reserved: Status quo remains - Ian Nielsen is acting mayor of Cape Town

Today, the Western Cape High Court, has ordered that the IEC does not fill Ms De Lille’s vacancy until such time as the review of her application is finalised. This was a proposal that was made by the DA yesterday and rejected by Ms De Lille.

The Court has reserved judgement on the matter of Ms De Lille seeking an interdict against the cessation of her membership. The court further laid down a timetable for the review of the constitutionality of Section 3.5.1.2 of the DA’s Constitution.

In the matter of Ms De Lille seeking an interdict restoring her to the mayoralty, judgment was reserved. She will continue not being a member of the DA and will not be the Mayor of Cape Town until judgment is delivered and only if it will be in her favour.

The DA maintains that Ms De Lille voluntarily took up DA membership, where she served on the Party’s Federal Executive and participated in the processes, procedures and application of the DA’s constitution for many years.

The DA therefore finds Ms De Lille’s legal action disingenuous as she is only finding issue with the application now that it has been applied to her.

The DA is, however, not interested in a long, drawn out, and unnecessary legal battle with Ms De Lille. We would like to see a speedy conclusion of this matter in order to provide the residents of Cape Town with the necessary clarity and assurance.

The DA will now await the Court's judgement and prepare for the matter before the Full Bench in two weeks.

Ultimately, the DA is committed to seeing stability in the City of Cape Town, and most importantly, we would like to see good governance being restored and services being delivered to the people of Cape Town.

Statement issued by Natasha Mazzone MP, Deputy Chairperson of Federal Council, 11 May 2018