Malema Says EFF Will Not Govern Soon, Hopes for ANC Coalition, SA Heap Criticism
- EFF leader Julius Malema cut a sore figure as he admitted defeat following the local government elections
- The charismatic politician said his party is prepared to enter a coalition with the ANC on a conditional basis
- After the vote-counting process, the EFF had claimed 885 seats and 10.32 per cent of the national vote
- Observers of Malema's performance on social media were critical of his propensity for political leadership, or lack thereof
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JOHANNESBURG - South Africans tended to agree with EFF leader Julius Malema on social media after he expressed that his party will not govern any time soon on the heels of a disastrous display at the local polls.
Malema resolved that his party will not play dirty politics by hurling unfounded criticism at voters for not supporting its vision to govern. Instead, Malema said he will await invitations to join in a coalition movement.
Source: Getty Images
He was addressing a briefing at the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)'s Results Operations Centre in Pretoria on Thursday, per The Citizen.
However, Malema warned that the EFF, although willing to listen to any political party inviting it to join a coalition movement, would not venture into an alliance for the sake of positions.
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The outspoken politician added the party would only get into an affiliation with the African National Congress (ANC) on the basis that it satisfies specific conditions.
"[President] Cyril [Ramaphosa] must vote with us on the expropriation of land without compensation before we can talk about coalitions," Malema ventured.
"The condition is that we vote together in Parliament to expropriate the land without compensation and make the state the custodian of the land."
Growth rate not cause for concern
Mail & Guardian reported that Malema's party headlined voter confidence in several municipalities and metro councils, including Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and eThekwini, taking 885 seats and 10.32 per cent of the national vote.
Malema added he was satisfied with his party's growth rate, despite criticism that it has shown slow growth. He said:
"We want to congratulate the people of South Africa for conducting peaceful elections and continuing to be exemplary in the continent.
"We are happy with our numbers and will continue to work with our people starting from now."
Saffas pile on the criticism
Briefly News took a deep dive into the comments on Twitter to bring readers all the reactions to Malema's humble outward projection.
@Painles86797588 wrote:
"First, admit the mistake you made about the border policy."
@JvB07437303 said:
"Unfortunately so, Juju. You personally have a lot of maturing to do. Get a communications expert to mentor you. Your heart might be in the right place but the articulation thereof."
@MasegeTshepo added:
"I see EFF being another UDM, COPE or IFP once you start dropping votes there is no turning back unless you change. Which in their case Juju should be what is changed."
Malema says the EFF is growing despite not winning a municipality
In related news, Briefly News recently reported that the EFF held a press conference on Thursday to speak about the party's performance in the recent municipal elections.
On the agenda was the party's slow but steady growth as well as the formation of coalition governments. The leader of the Red Berets stated that he was happy to see the ANC below 50 per cent.
He said that it did not matter which party pushed the ANC out of power as long as the party loses its overall majority.
Speaking about the growth of the political organisation, Malema stated the EFF was showing a steady growth while other parties such as the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) were seeing a decline, reports News24.
"We are going to take as long as it takes to grow. We're not running a popcorn revolution," stated Malema.
Source: Briefly News
