George mayor resigns from DA
27 July 2016
Cape Town - George mayor Charles Standers has resigned from the Democratic Alliance, effective at the end of his term.
In a letter addressed to Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell, Standers asked that his name be removed from the party's proportional list for the upcoming local government elections.
He lists the reasons for his resignation as "deeply troubling developments" of interference from the DA's regional structures in the work of the local municipality, alleged silence from the DA's George caucus over corruption in the municipality "which I cannot stand for and have fought against", as well as "racist practices" within the local caucus which he said were wrong, created disunity and affected service delivery.
Standers, who was in the news following the alleged assault of his wife during an argument over car keys earlier this year, also said the DA leaked untested charges levelled against him to the media, thereby "tarnishing [his] integrity, character and personhood".