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Julius Malema, at the EFF Turns 12 Rally at Khayelitsha Rugby Stadium in Cape Town.
Political analyst Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu says the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) should prioritize building branches outside tertiary institutions and improve leadership stability if it is serious about consolidating power in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Mngomezulu was speaking as the party celebrated 12 years of existence.
The EFF’s support base in KZN, which was at its height between 2014 and 2019, continues to show a significant decline.
The May 2024 general elections saw EFF drop from 10% to 2% support in KZN.
This reduced the party’s numbers in the provincial legislature from 8 to 2.
Mngomezulu says as parties gear up for the 2026 local government elections, the EFF will need to put in the work to regain voter confidence.
VIDEO | The red berets celebrate their 12th anniversary
“My view is that there are things that the EFF can do, the first one is to build branches outside tertiary institutions. But then of course, they can also build on the strength they have which is to use the students’ command in different academic institutions this is to ensure that there is stability within the party. Then they need to dispel the thing that there is only one person running the party, let everybody see the opportunity. Then the last one, they need to refrain from the narrative that there is tribalism in KwaZulu-Natal, a term that has surfaced especially following the emergence of the MK Party which caused havoc. People started saying that people in KZN vote along ethnic lines which is a blatant lie because all along case it has been known the greatest province for the ANC and there was no talk of either ethnicity or tribalism,” Mngomezulu says.
VIDEO | EFF celebrates 12th anniversary
