JOHANNESBURG - Helen Zille will step down as chairperson of the Democratic Alliance's (DA) Federal Council.
The decision comes as the DA won the by-election in Johannesburg’s Ward 102, clearing the way for its mayoral candidate Zille to join the metro’s council.
Between balancing her campaign in the City of Gold with her responsibilities as Federal Council chairperson, Zille said she had to make a call.
"Being the chair of the Federal council is a big role and it keeps me up till late at night, because obviously in the day, I'm campaigning. So I don't want to do three jobs. I'm standing down as the chair of the Federal Council at the Congress in April," she said.
Zille remains steadfast in getting the city of gold to its priced possession.
She welcomed the wins in Ward 102 where Bea Campbell-Cloete of the DA was appointed as the new ward councillor, having won the seat by landslide victory, receiving over 94% of the total votes.
Zille said the Ward 102 win was a "big win" because it went up by 30 percentage points.
She said this win is reflective of the people on the ground who have hope in the DA to turn the city around.
"I'd like to say to everybody who came out, thank you very much. It's very, very important for our democracy,' he said.