EFF Julius Malema ANC COALITION

MAHIKENG, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 09: Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema addresses supporters during an election campaign on October 09, 2021 in Mahikeng, South Africa. The 2021 South African municipal elections will be held on 1 November 2021 to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country’s nine provinces. (Photo by Gallo Images/City Press/Tebogo Letsie)

Coalition Watch: EFF says it will only collaborate with parties that will let it govern

“We want to see EFF mayors and members of Mayoral Committees. We want to see EFF speakers of municipalities. Whoever is going to talk to us must know that that is ultimately going to be the outcome of deliberations,” said Shivambu.

EFF Julius Malema ANC COALITION

MAHIKENG, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 09: Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema addresses supporters during an election campaign on October 09, 2021 in Mahikeng, South Africa. The 2021 South African municipal elections will be held on 1 November 2021 to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country’s nine provinces. (Photo by Gallo Images/City Press/Tebogo Letsie)

The Deputy President of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Floyd Shivambu said that any parties that want to enter a coalition with the EFF would have to concede governance in municipalities. He said the EFF did not become part of government after the 2016 elections but things would be different this time.

17 WARDS IN THE BAG

Shivambu, speaking from the IEC ROC in Tshwane, said the EFF has won 17 wards thus far in the 2021 Local Government Elections – this is not the number displayed on the leaderboards at the IEC’s headquarters in Tshwane but the Deputy President said the results at the centre were trailing behind the party’s own operations centre.

Shivambu said the EFF won an outright majority in eight wards in the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality in Polokwane, Limpopo.

He said the party also picked up three wards in the Free State, two in the Northern Cape and a single ward in the Merafong Municipality in Gauteng.

“We’ve got 17 wards in total that we can confirm, thus far, which have been won by the EFF outright,” said Shivambu. He added that the party only won 10 wards outright in the 2016 LGE and most of them were in Rustenberg.

“This change in the wards that we have won is quite impressive and we are quite happy with this particular development,” he said.

EFF AIMS TO CREATE JOBS IN METSIMAHOLO

Shivambu said the EFF has gained an additional two wards in the Metsimaholo Municipality in the Free State – ward 8 and ward 23.

“Ward 23 is part of the settlement that was established by EFF and which is going to receive a lot of development due to the efforts of the EFF,” said Shivambu. The nation’s third-largest political party is planning a “huge project” centred on a shopping complex that will provide jobs to the people of Mooidraai.

Shivambu said the EFF has plans to implement more tangible programs in the ward that they are leading when it assumes control of the government. However, there is no outright winner in the Metsimaholo Municipality as the ANC is hovering around 31 to 32 percent.

“Of course, the negotiations will determine who ultimately leads the government of Metsimaholo.”

‘WE WANT TO SEE EFF MAYORS’

.Shivambu said that the party has not approached – or been approached by – any political parties and it has not started internal discussions on coalition governments.

“Let us have the results concluded first and then we will talk with concrete numbers as to how do we constitute governments in municipalities that did not have an outright winner,” said Shivambu.

However, he said that any political party that seeks to partner with the EFF must know that it wants to be part of the government after the elections are over.

 The party did not enter into any coalitions after the 2016 LGE and offered loose support to parties on a case by case basis in certain municipalities.

“We want to see EFF mayors and EFF members of Mayoral Committees. We want to see EFF speakers of municipalities.

“Whoever is going to talk to us must know that that is ultimately going to be the outcome of deliberations,” said Shivambu.

Shivambu said the EFF would not enter into intra-municipality coalitions. The party wants to assume full control of a municipality and in exchange, it will offer its support to its coalition partners that are in charge of other municipalities.

“It must be handled in a different way where political parties establish principles, support each other in different municipalities in terms of speakers and members of the mayoral committee and the mayors itself,” explained the EFF Deputy President.

“A political party must take full responsibility for whatever area it seeks to govern. That is how we want to approach this issue of coalition as the EFF.”

For the live results visit https://results.elections.org.za/dashboards/lge/

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