Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema visited a number of voter registration offices in Durban. Mr Malema said KwaZulu-Natal remained a key province in this year's elections.
The party is mobilizing voters to ensure their participation in the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, voters who visited polling stations said they still lacked basic services in some areas.
According to the latest IEC statistics, KwaZulu-Natal is the second-largest province after Gauteng, accounting for 20% of the national vote.
Political parties are now beginning to compete for potential votes in the state. Some voters who visit voter registration offices say they come from areas where poor service delivery is common.
Nkosikhona Masoka, Themba Mtombeni and Nombelo Shabane said they were looking forward to voting in the upcoming national elections.
“This will be my first time voting, and I decided to register to vote because I really wanted to vote for a party that is interested in changing the lives of young people. We have job opportunities. No, and they need to build bridges in our communities, I just want the government to create job opportunities, there is no water in this area, proper toilets even though there is a lack of transportation. There is no development in this area, we do not have it.”
“EFF’s advance”
Speaking outside a polling station in Verulam, north of Durban, the EFF president said his party was making inroads into the state.
“KwaZulu-Natal has a lot of voters and KwaZulu-Natal will be a battleground in the 2024 elections. That will be the deciding factor. If you want to win the national elections, Gauteng, KwaZulu. – Don't forget that you have to win Natal, Western Cape. Now they know Gauteng is gone. It's non-negotiable, Western Cape is gone. KwaZulu-Natal is leaving, but if KwaZulu-Natal leaves there will be no outright winners at the national level and we are confident that we will undermine them here in KwaZulu-Natal. ”
Malema added that he was not worried about the emergence of the Umkhonto Wisizwe party.
“Well, we are fighting for the number one spot, so if we fail, we will be number two. Everything else is Mongezi's fault. Two are compromises and three are the rest. They start competing at the bottom, the EFF at the top. Umkhonto wesizwe must be free to carry out its own political activities. It is a democratic organization and they have every right to exist and their rights must be respected and we have the right to exist without worrying about ourselves. Yes, we do not interfere with anyone, and no one should interfere with us.”
Polling places will be open and registration will continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
♦️A must-see♦️
CIC @Julius_S_Malema A warm welcome was received from residents of Ward 60, eThekwini, Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal.
It's never too late to reveal your numbers #Register to VoteEFF today!
You can also register online using the following link… pic.twitter.com/RUc466VEh0
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 3, 2024