Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille survived the motion of no confidence tabled by the DA by a single vote on Thursday. Of the 224 city council members who were in attendance, 109 voted for De Lille to leave, and 110 voting against the motion, with three abstentions. Two councillors did not vote, according to the results displayed online.
In January, Western Cape DA leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said the party's federal executive had authorised its caucus to table a motion of no confidence against De Lille in the city council. It called for the removal of the mayor, following a raft of allegations against her – but she has survived.
Earlier in January, during a high-level investigation by the DA into De Lille, News24 obtained a copy of a report compiled by chief whip John Steenhuisen, MP Patricia Kopane, Gauteng leader John Moodey and councillor Karen Smith.
The report accused De Lille of abusing her power as mayor to ensure the appointments of those she favours.
The report threw more light on the DA leadership's decision to discipline De Lille for misconduct. The report's findings claimed that:
• De Lille pushed for a family friend to be appointed to the board of a municipal entity;
• A close family member of De Lille's may have benefited from a controversial city tender;
• De Lille believes she, rather than the DA, was the driving force behind the party's successful 2016 election campaign, and
• De Lille is prone to bullying councillors who do not agree with her, calling them "stupid".
After overcoming the no-confidence vote, De Lille was quick to use Twitter to thank those who supported her, saying: "Thank you to the councillors for their support. You showed your courage and conviction. Let's get back to our work!"
Additional reporting News24