Malema admits EFF’s electoral support severely affected by MK Party
Malema was addressing members of the media at the National Results Operation Centre (ROC) in Midrand on Saturday.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema during a media briefing at the National Results Operation Centre in Midrand on 1 June 2024. Picture: Jacques Nelles/ Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema admitted that the party’s electoral support has been severely affected by the rise of former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
Malema was addressing members of the media at the National Results Operation Centre (ROC) in Midrand on Saturday.
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As the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) continues to capture votes, the MK Party has overtaken the EFF to become South Africa’s third-biggest political organisation.
Malema has welcomed the outcomes of the 2024 national and provincial elections.
He said the MK Party has changed the country’s political space, insisting most organisations underestimated the support of Zuma.
He said the key takeaway for this election is that the African National Congress (ANC) has lost its majority in Parliament and in several provinces, such as Gauteng, Northern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.
“Now that the parliamentary majority of the ANC has been broken and there is no single political party that can constitute government on its own, we as the EFF will be engaging with different political parties on how we elect leadership for Parliament and constitute a government that will lead South Africa for the next five years.”
He said the party wouldn't mind getting into a coalition with the ANC.
Malema said a coalition arrangement would see the ANC being called to account for corruption.
"We are not going to allow ANC corruption. One of the positions we are going to demand from the ANC is the speaker of Parliament. You can't go into a coalition with the ANC and not have a speaker. The ANC is running the executive, we have to run the speaker so that we monitor them and make them accountable."
Meanwhile, the red berets leader said the EFF is set to act against its members who weren’t heavily involved in its election campaign.