EFF marks 11th anniversary as the Red Berets face a key political litmus test

JOHANNESBURG - Analysts say as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) approach its second decade, it needs to figure out if it is time to pivot and create a balance between its radical posture, while adapting to the moderate spirit of South African politics.

The Red Berets are in Kimberley in the Northern Cape to mark the party’s 11th birthday on Saturday.

The anniversary follows the party's first ever electoral decline in the May general polls.

It also comes as the party is preparing for its third People's Assembly, an elective conference where members will vote for a new leadership.

The EFF's ability to capture the country's imagination for the past decade has been well documented, but it now finds itself on the periphery of the country's current politics.

This is owed to the birth of the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the arrival of the Umkhonto We Sizwe party, which is now the official opposition in Parliament.

READ: Former EFFSC president mobilises support for Mbuyiseni Ndlozi to become party SG

Political Analyst Lukhona Mnguni said that the EFF must figure out ways to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive political environment.

"Now we don't find that EFF... that is able to set the national agenda, that is able to focus us, on questions of racism, workplace ill-treatment of people and all of those things, " said Mnguni.

Mnguni also raised concerns over the self-interests of its leaders and the impact this has had on its relationship with the electorate.

EFF Leader Julius Malema has promised the country that it will see a different party in action going forward.

"You will never see us on the stage. You will never see us fighting with any bouncer. We are here as a ten-year-old organisation with mature parliamentary politics," Malema said.

But with only just a few weeks since the resumption of Parliament, some will argue it is still too soon to judge as the party marks its 11th birthday.