Cape Town — As the election count draws to a close, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are left licking their wounds after the party look set to lose it’s title as the 3rd strongest party.
With the voter count now at 98%, the EFF have only secured 9.4% of the votes with 1 455 072 votes in total. That is 1.4% less than their voter total from 2019 (10.8%), and some way behind the uMkhonto weSizwe’s (MK) total of 14.8% of votes, according to the IEC results dashboard.
Many political analysts have pointed out that the emergence of the MK has hindered the ruling ANC, but has seriously affected the EFF’s standing as a political rival.
Leading political analyst, Michael Atkins, said the EFF, particularly in KZN, has lost many votes to the MK Party, who were expected to have a strong showing in the province due to Zuma’s allegiances, The Citizen reported..
“It is too soon to tell whether MK has taken votes from other parties. In particular instances, EFF support is known in places where the MK party is strong.” Atkins said.
Political analyst, Mashupye Maserumule, said the growth of the red berets has been stunted, IOL reported.
“The EFF has become the biggest victim of the emergence of the MK. In as much as the MK has eaten into the support base of the ANC, but also it did the same to the support base of the EFF. That much has always been very clear from the first time when MK contested by-elections in various districts in KwaZulu-Natal,” Maserumule said.
“We are the ones who have been publicly saying that the ANC will go below 40%… The MK must be commended for having played a part in taking the ANC out of complete control and rulership in South Africa” – EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu#BeyondTheBallot #Vote24 pic.twitter.com/P8rJmW7jnj
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 31, 2024
He said the EFF has not really grown much since it entered the political landscape and the party has remained stagnant, as the MK has eaten into the the party’s support.
EFF deputy president, Floyd Shivambu, has insisted that his party has given a solid performance in the election.
“We are satisfied with the numbers that we have been given as the EFF and we welcome the support. More than a million South Africans have demonstrated practically that showing (support) for the Economic Freedom Fighters. More than a million have voted for the EFF and we really appreciate that,” said Shivambu.
According to EWN, Shivambu was confident the party will be in government as it sets sights on forming part of a coalition arrangement. Although the vote-counting process continues Shivambu has accepted that the MK party has taken the red berets’ spot.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
