Over the last few months in the run-up to the May 18 local elections, Helen Zille, the current leader fo the Democratic Alliance (DA), has been tirelessly campaigning all over South Africa.

Perdeby caught up with her in the last stretch of of her campaign at an event in Pretoria and asked her a few quick questions.

She began by emphasising why it is importantfor the youth to vote. 'Your vote is your power. If you don't you may regret it later. You have to be smart and informed when casting your vote.'

She stressed the fact that people have to understand that many people sacrificed a lot to get the right to vote.

She added that the youth is an important vote for any political party and that while the ANC will run a negative campaign the DA tries to keep their campaign positive. 'The smart youth will realise that that is why so many young people are joining the DA.'

She has been vigorously touring municipalities, spreading the DA's message of service delivery, hitting home the message that the DA is a party that will fairly represent all South Africans. To emphasise the point she switches between speaking in Xhosa, English, Afrikaans and broken Zulu, and often accompanies her message with a toi-toi dance.

She spoke about the campaign the DA has been running in Pretoria. 'People are starting to realise that the DA delivers better and big cities are our starting point. All eyes are on Pretoria,' she said, adding that the DA has a good chance at winning but only if 'every last DA member votes. People have to vote for the bigger parties (like the DA) so there is a bigger opposition.'

She continued, 'Unless we make people realise that they have power, democracy won't work. That is why the DA is not just a party of opposition but a party of governance and it makes sense to start on a local level. People are beginning to get fed up with bad service delivery and service delivery is what the local government is about.'

'The truth is that many people within the ANC agree with us,' she added soberly.

Speaking to the crowd gatheredat the event , she said: 'Constitutional democracy should provide for everyone. Constitutional law won't work if everyone does not look after it. Everyone should support each other's rights. The alternative is impossible.'

Perdeby asked the opposition leader whether she thinks there is a place for politics and political parties on campuses. She said that indeed there is: 'Student politics give us our future leaders and politics is part of the real world. There is no use protecting people from that world.'

Asked whether she thinks there are major problems within the tertiary education she said: 'Yes, we have to make sure that we have good universities that are world class. The major problem with tertiary education is financing for underprivaledged students.'

Zille added that if the local election plays out the way the DA thinks it will, it won't be long before a regime change.