The DA in Cape Town has come under fire from the GOOD Party for voting against a motion of no confidence in Council Speaker Felicity Purchase during a virtual sitting on Thursday.
GOOD’s City of Cape Town councillor and caucus whip, Jonathan Cupido, accused the DA of putting party interests ahead of residents by shielding Purchase from accountability.
He said the Speaker had “repeatedly violated the Municipal Structures Act and the Rules of Order, including showing open bias, failing to maintain order, and selectively enforcing discipline to protect DA councillors.”
The GOOD Party had brought the motion after a chaotic Council sitting at the end of July, which saw an EFF Councillor allegedly choked out by peace officers who had tried to remove him repeatedly for disrupting the sitting.
Cupido further alleged that Purchase tolerated violence in Council, allowed racial insults, and undermined democratic processes. He also criticised her decision to preside over her own no-confidence motion and install a DA mayor-nominated councillor as acting Speaker.
“The DA’s decision to shield her is blatant hypocrisy,” Cupido said, adding that the move eroded public trust and undermined fairness and accountability.
He said GOOD would continue to fight for integrity in Council, including turning to the courts.
In response, Speaker Felicity Purchase welcomed the outcome of the vote, saying Council had “decisively rejected” the motion.
She dismissed GOOD’s allegations as “baseless, politically motivated, and designed to distract Council from its mandate of governance and service delivery.”
“Order and discipline in this chamber are the collective responsibility of all councillors. The recent disorder we have witnessed has not been the result of my rulings, but of certain councillors’ deliberate refusal to comply with the Rules of Order,” she said.
Purchase insisted that she applies the rules firmly and fairly, without fear or favour. She said Council’s endorsement reaffirmed her leadership and commitment to ensuring that proceedings are conducted “with order, dignity and respect.”
The motion failed with just 37 Councillors voting in favour of it, compared to 125 Councillors against, while there were 2 abstentions.
