HERE IS WHY DE LILLE ASKED FOR ANOTHER MONTH AS MAYOR

Patricia de Lille has asked the Western Cape High Court to suspend the decision made by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

De Lille added to the request that they terminate her membership in order for her to remain City of Cape Town Mayor for another month in order to clear her name of any wrongdoing alleged against her.

De Lille's legal team filed papers at the court on Tuesday morning after being informed that the DA had ceased her membership and she had consequently lost her position as mayor.

The application has two parts: the first part deals with the matter of an urgent hearing, which is set down for Friday, while the second asks the court to suspend the federal executive’s decision to expel De Lille from the party so that she remains a councillor and the mayor.

Her ultimate aim is to continue with the disciplinary hearing the DA has instituted against her so that her alleged misconduct as mayor can be dealt with.

"Most importantly, there is no reason why the DA could not continue with its disciplinary processes against me. If an independent person is appointed to preside at those hearings and an open hearing is guaranteed, then the whole process could be concluded within the next month," De Lille said in her affidavit.

"The fact of the matter, however, is that the DA is using the automatic cessation clause precisely because it knows that the disciplinary route against me is fraught with problems such as that the charges are weak and the panels have been shown to be biased or improperly appointed."

De Lille also told the court that the automatic cessation of her membership is unconstitutional because it "violates the right to freedom of expression" and enabled the party to "get rid" of her for "no good reason".

De Lille is adamant that if the party accedes to her request for an open disciplinary hearing, where an independent advocate or redesigned judge can preside, then the charges against her may be cleared in a month, and the party can appoint a new mayor if it wishes.

The DA's two separate disciplinary hearings against De Lille have been indefinitely postponed pending decisions around if the process should be open to the public. However, De Lille has argued that her name has been "smeared" by the public and should be publicly cleared, while the party said it is an internal process that is defined by the DA rulebook.

But for now, De Lille, who insists in court papers that she is still mayor, is asking the court for one more month so that these cases against her are not swept under the rug.

"I will suffer enormous personal prejudice should interim relief not be granted. Apart from losing my job, it will mean that I will not be able to continue with the two court cases against the DA because I act in those cases as a member of the DA. It will further mean that I will also not be able to defend myself in the disciplinary proceedings against me and clear my name in public. The reason for this is that a party cannot discipline someone who is no longer a member of that party," she said in her affidavit.

De Lille’s case is expected to be heard on Friday morning.