Elections, and was also elected as the Federal Chairperson of the DA at the party's Federal Congress in May. In 2016, Trollip was referred to the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) for alleged human rights abuses and unfair labour practices on the family farm near Bedford in the Eastern Cape, allegations that he strenuously denied. The HRC later abandoned the case, citing the difficulty of investigating events alleged to have happened between the 1970s and 2000s, and that the incidents happened before the current, constitutional dispensation and involved "issues of pre-jurisdiction". Later career In the municipal elections held on 3 August 2016, the DA won a plurality of seats in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. With the help of the smaller parties such as the United Democratic Movement, Congress of the People and the African Christian Democratic Party, Trollip was elected as mayor of that municipality. He served in the position for 2 years, under which the metro received a ratings upgrade from Moody's. Tensions soon arose between Trollip and his deputy mayor from the UDM, Mongameli Bobani, requiring frequent interventions by the respective party leaderships to mend the relationship. The relationship eventually broke down and Bobani was ousted from the coalition in late 2017. After this, Trollip faced several no-confidence motions. One was tabled to be held on 30 March 2018. The vote was postponed, because the city council meeting descended into chaos due to the actions of the opposition parties. In August 2018, DA councillor Victor Manyati abstained from voting in the no-confidence motion against the speaker, allowing the speaker to be removed. After the motion, the DA and its coalition partners left the council. The vote of no confidence in Trollip then occurred and succeeded. Bobani was then elected mayor with 61 votes in favour, and none against. The DA legally challenged the removal of Trollip as executive mayor. The party alleged that there was no longer a quorum in the council when the vote occurred as Manyati's party membership had been suspended after he abstained. However, the high court upheld Bobani's appointment, stating that Manyati had still been a DA member at the time and as such there was a quorum. Trollip subsequently assumed the post of leader of the opposition of the Nelson Mandela Bay council. In October 2019, he declared his intention to run for the post of Chairperson of the DA's