India, Feb. 5 -- The leader of South Africa's second biggest political party said Wednesday that he will not stand for reelection for the leadership of the Democratic Alliance. John Steenhuisen led his party's election campaign in 2024, when the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came into power at the end of apartheid, or white minority rule, in 1994.

He was an integral part of negotiations that led to a Government of national unity between the DA, ANC and smaller parties. In his announcement Wednesday, Steenhuisen described that as one of his biggest political achievements. "It was only by gaining access to the levers of national power that we could ever hope to build a more prosperous...