Cape Town - Despite the EFF being at loggerheads with the City of Cape Town over election banners, the party on Monday insisted it was hoping to triple its representation in the metropolitan municipality.
Provincial chairperson Melikhaya Xego said: “We currently have seven councillors and plan to triple the number.”
According to Xego, voters were responding well to their election campaigns ahead of the November 1 local government elections.
“The EFF was there all along during Covid-19. As the organisation we have been there during the evictions,” he said.
He added that the red berets had championed the anti-racism campaign when it broke out at the Brackenfell High School in the province.
Xego, however, said their plan for other municipalities in the province was to reduce the DA’s majority vote and push for hung municipalities.
“We can’t be ahead of ourselves. We are still building the organisation.”
“We are (going) to be king makers. We are working to ensure that we reduce the DA to be not more than 60 percent and be less than 50 percent so that we can have coalitions.”
Xego’s comment comes a day after DA leader John Steenhuisen took to social media saying his party would not enter into a coalition with the EFF under his leadership.
“They do not share our values and we learnt a valuable lesson over the last 5 years. We would rather serve our voters as an excellent opposition than compromise our values and principles…,” Steenhuisen said.
Asked if they were working towards making a huge dent in the ANC’s support base, Xego highlighted that supporters of the ruling party were loyal to former president Nelson Mandela.
He further added there were still ANC supporters who insist that despite challenges faced by the party, they would still vote for it because of Mandela.
“We still need a serious voter education so that people can understand that when an organisation is failing them, they move on. Under the current situation, we can see that the ANC is failing and the EFF is their only hope.”
Meanwhile, the EFF is gearing itself for the arrival of party leader Julius Malema for a three-day campaign in the province.
Xego confirmed that Malema would be in the City of Cape Town Metro and Stellenbosch Municipality from Thursday until Saturday.
“The commander-in-chief will have community meetings, walk-about and engage with communities to explain our manifesto and take up community concerns,” he said.
Although Xego has said a statement will soon be released, posters on social media show that Malema will be campaigning in Stellenbosch, where a community meeting is planned at Khayamnandi.
He is set to address the student command rally at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Bellville and community meetings in Nyanga and Khayelitsha on Friday.
On Saturday, Malema will be in Kraaifontein.
Meanwhile, the EFF is awaiting a judgement by the Western Cape High Court over the election poster dispute after the matter was heard on Friday.
Political Bureau