Speaking to journalists in Cape Town after the DA's final federal council meeting before the 2019 elections, he said Monday would mark 29 years to the day that former president Nelson Mandela was released from prison.

"Mandela was committed to a vision of a united, reconciled, prosperous, and non-racial South Africa for all. The DA continues to champion this vision and we remain the only party in South Africa capable of delivering on the dream of One South Africa for All," he said.

"The choice that lies before South Africans when they cast their votes on 8 May this year is a choice between another five years of talk shops, summits, corruption, and empty promises from the ANC, or [the] DA's agenda for immediate change that builds One South Africa for All."

From the outset, the federal council reaffirmed the DA's 2019 election targets of winning Gauteng, winning the Northern Cape, retaining the Western Cape, and growing its share of votes nationally.

"We are more convinced than ever that we will achieve these targets as our own research shows significant weakness in the ANC across the country – particularly in the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Northern Cape.

"Our research shows that the ANC is well below its 2014 election results, whereas the DA is polling ahead of our 2014 election results. This is encouraging and shows that South Africans are tired of the status quo and are desperate for immediate change," Maimane said.

The federal council also reflected on the final registration weekend held on January 26 and 27.

"The party delivered a strong result, having out-registered our opponents in the Northern Cape, Free State, North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the battleground of Gauteng. The party has been in full election mode since all structures returned to work on 2 January this year.

"Since then we’ve put up hundreds of thousands of posters, delivered hundreds of thousands of leaflets, made thousands of phone calls to voters, held hundreds of events, and our activists and public representatives have crisscrossed the country delivering our offer of One South Africa for All. With 87 days to election day, the party is united, focused, and equipped to deliver our strongest campaign in history.

"This year’s election is a referendum on the ANC in government. South Africans must go to the ballot box and vote for the future country we all dream of – and for the party they believe can best deliver on that dream.

"For the next 87 days, thousands of DA public representatives, activists and staff members will traverse the country – going door-to-door to deliver our offer of One South Africa for All to millions of voters. We are confident South Africans will choose the DA at the ballot box on 8 May 2019," Maimane said.

African News Agency (ANA)