The EFF in Gauteng says it has confidence in its premier candidate, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. (Alfonso Nkunjana/News24)
- The EFF in Gauteng is confident about its prospects on Wednesday.of election.
- Nkululeko Dunga said the party was confident in its prime ministerial candidate, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
- He told News24 that the party still maintained friendly relations with the ANC.
The frosty relationship between the ANC and EFF in Gauteng is unlikely to have any impact on coalition talks, which are likely to begin as soon as the results are announced.
The EFF in Gauteng remains confident that its premiership candidate, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, and his campaign will see it at least overtake the DA to become the official opposition in the province.
The party denied that its campaigning had stalled in the run-up to Wednesday's election and said it was relying on the youth vote.
EFF Gauteng provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga told News24 there was no “personal feeling” between the two leadership groups.
Dunga said the final decision would be made by the national leadership which handles coalition issues but “the fact is that the ANC and the EFF have similar ideologies,” suggesting the two could form a coalition in Gauteng.
Relations between the ANC and the EFF in the province have long been tense, with the two parties frequently accusing each other of disloyalty.
This hostility came to a head when members became embroiled in a physical fight in Ekurhuleni.
The two also found themselves in a contentious situation earlier this year when an EFF MPL allegedly disrupted proceedings during a State of the Province address.
The EFF and ANC currently govern jointly in Ekurhuleni and eThekwini, and many speculate that a coalition government between the two in Gauteng is inevitable.
In 2019, the EFF won 634,387 votes, or 14.69%, while the ANC received 2.1 million votes, or 50.19%.
Both parties are confident of growing support, with the ANC setting an ambitious target of 60% and the EFF confident it can secure more than 20% support to overtake the DA, which had a support rate of 27.45% in 2019.
As the political landscape changes dramatically with the rise of smaller parties, pollsters are painting a very different picture.
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Dunga told News24:
I think the EFF central command team will use its wisdom as to which political parties we should associate with, but there is no big substantive difference between us and the ANC ideologically. As an organisation we are sometimes called far-left by those who see fit to categorise us in terms of political ideology, but perhaps that is exactly what the country needs.
He said the ANC's embrace of neoliberal politics had tended to dilute the DA's message and render it irrelevant in the country's politics.
“Maybe that's exactly what South Africa needs. South Africa needs a radical voice that can infiltrate the political orientation and consciousness of the ruling elite and lean to the far left as a policy position and perspective.”
Dunga added:
That being said, there is no personal animosity between the leaders. It is never personal, but always about politics, about advancing the South African agenda and working to lift black people out of the poverty in which they live.
But he said the EFF could not ignore that a “dysfunctional ANC has made every sphere of government extremely ineffective”.
“This is an honest analysis and we can't shy away from it. We have to be brutally honest to come to the table, sit down and consider how to fix what you've done.”
Dunga added that key issues and fundamentals would be considered, including fundamental issues such as water supply for Hammanskraal.
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The ANC and EFF conducted major campaigns in Hammanskraal, with both parties promising to resolve the area's water supply problems once and for all.
“Is there a fundamental difference between you and us?
“If not, we are prepared to cede that particular power to say we can negotiate and come to an agreement, but the conditions are that in the interim we provide water to the residents of Hammanskraal, we allocate good quality housing, we dismantle NSFAS and make grants payable directly to universities and universities pay directly to students,” Dunga said, listing some of the priorities detailed in the party's manifesto.
Other issues he added that are very important to the EFF, if there is a consultation, include 24-hour clinics; Die Stem Issues “dear” to the party such as the South African national anthem, land, nationalisation and the establishment of an interconnector road with Lesotho were raised.
“These are fundamental discussions for the EFF and they could be approved. And if they are approved, it is in the interest of the people of South Africa, particularly Gauteng. And there's nothing preventing us from undertaking that effort, but that particular effort is obviously limited to the EFF's central command team.”
“We have great confidence that they will come up with a sensible position going forward,” Dunga said.
Reflecting on the campaign, he added that the EFF had made every effort to ensure its success.
“We have done everything humanly possible to attract voters because we had a targeted campaign that was aimed not only at the youth but at all the voters who had registered after going through an intensive registration programme.”