WATCH | EFF will no longer help communities that did not vote for the red berets

The EFF says it will no longer help communities that did not back the party in the May 29 elections. Party leader Julius Malema said they would focus on those that voted for them.

“We are now going to work in a focused manner. We no longer prioritise people who come from different constituencies that did not vote for the EFF. We are only going to service the voting districts that voted for the EFF. We are now choosing people who are choosing us,” he said on Thursday in Cape Town.

Malema referred to a video sent to him of community members drinking water from a hole, asking him to build boreholes for them after the elections. The ward was won by the ANC. Malema responded by saying: “Go where you voted, don't come to me. If you need assistance from the EFF, vote for the EFF.” 

Party MPs from KwaZulu-Natal also face the chop after getting only 2.26% in the elections, down from 9.71% in 2019.

“We are not going to have an over-representation of people in KZN in this parliament when they've not given us anything. They will get what is proportionate to what they gave us in these elections, and that applies to everyone else,” Malema said.

The EFF received 9.52% of the national vote and 39 seats in parliament in the 2024 election, a drop from 10.8% and 44 seats in 2019. Malema was positive the party would improve its performance in future elections.

“We did not return to the base we started at when we started in 2014. We are definitely not there anymore. We've just lost a few seats and we are going to bounce back strongly in 2026.”

He said the EFF would not use its resources in constituencies where it received little or no support.

“As a party, we need to have our priorities right. Otherwise, you are going to undermine your growth. You're going to invest your resources where there are no dividends.”

TimesLIVE