DURBAN - EFF leaders in KwaZulu-Natal are pleased with how the party has performed in the local government elections, saying it has lived up to its reputation of being an “overachiever”.
While the election results have yet to be declared, the party’s provincial chairperson Vusi Khoza said the EFF had gained its first ward in the province, and representation in municipalities where it previously had none.
By yesterday afternoon, the EFF was listed on the Electoral Commission results board as the third biggest party in the eThekwini Municipality with 10.14% of the vote, after the DA with 26.71% and the ANC leading at 42.92%.
Khoza said that in eThekwini, although a large portion of results were still outstanding, they predicted they would double the current number of councillors they had in the municipality.
“The results in eThekwini are coming very slowly, but we are quite happy about those that have come through so far. At the moment it is difficult to form a picture of what is happening, but we are happy with what we have seen so far,” he said.
He said they were very happy with the outcomes provincially.
“We have gained in municipalities where we previously had no representation. In uMngeni we had no councillors and now we have two seats, in Impendle we had none, but now we have two seats, in Mpofana we gained a seat as well as a ward in Langalibalele (Estcourt) Municipality.”
In the run-up to the elections, party president Julius Malema visited the province at least twice to campaign in Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle and Inanda, Durban.
In Pietermaritzburg, his campaign was disrupted by clashes with ANC supporters, who objected to his presence there, and in the days before the election the party’s candidate for ward 20 in the capital city, Thulani Shangase, was shot dead.
“We are the only party that is consistently growing, our message resonates with our constituency, many of them are at tertiary institutions and they grow up in the EFF and become professionals,” said Khoza.
He said that despite being unable to campaign for long periods, they had still achieved good results.
“To campaign you need a year to 18 months. We did not have that time, but we performed.”
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said the party was steadily growing and the outcomes of these elections were good news for it.
“I was not expecting a lot from their target market, which is the youth. It’s the adults who have to pay municipal bills and rates who often feel the pressure to vote in the local government elections,” he said.
He added that the momentum the party gained in 2019, and its performance in these elections, stood it in good stead for the 2024 elections.
THE MERCURY
