Although vote counting is yet to be completed, Floyd Shivambu of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has conceded defeat to his Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.
But he says the party that has suffered the most is the African National Congress (ANC), which governs KwaZulu-Natal.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) were no exception as the MK party won more than 1.3 million votes nationwide.
“The ANC suffered its biggest defeat in KwaZulu-Natal, potentially losing over 40% of its 2019 votes. The IFP faces the same fate. Any political seismic shift in KwaZulu-Natal will not ensure that the ANC is immune to defeat. However, it is encouraging that the EFF still managed to get well over one million votes, despite a significant contribution from KwaZulu-Natal, the second largest voter in 2019. This proves that we are not a regional party and that we are strong as an organisation despite changes in one corner, which is commendable.”
Rise Mzansi
Meanwhile, new party Rise Mzansi, through its leader Songezo Zibi, said the MP's actions had an impact on all parties contesting the election.
“There was a time when we thought we could get 10 seats, but then MK happened. You can look at some of the data from areas of our agents where we know we are particularly strong. We didn't do as well as we would have hoped. But I think that's true for any party that was organising in former ANC strongholds like we were. I think the EFF has the same problems. They are struggling to reach a million seats which they easily achieved in the last election. The ANC is struggling. The DA is struggling in areas where they are starting to make inroads. So are you accepting that MK is a factor? No, anyone who claims they are not a factor is lying.”
