LISTEN | ‘Those people were never ours — they were Zuma’s’: Malema on the MK Party’s performance

EFF leader Julius Malema says the MK Party was successful in the elections because the people who supported former president Jacob Zuma had no other “home” after he was removed from office and ended up going to his new party.

He said those were voters “borrowed” by the EFF, but now had gone back to their home, the MK Party, and he was happy about that. 

'They had no other home because they didn't want [ANC leader] Cyril [Ramaphosa] so they ended up coming to us,' he said.

Malema said the July unrest had been a clear indicator of the extent of Zuma’s support.

Malema was addressing a media briefing at the 2024 Election National Results Operation Centre (ROC) at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand Johannesburg on Saturday. 

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When asked about his own party’s performance, he said it had done very well.

“We are the happiest because we have achieved our mission in our lifetime and that mission was to bring the ANC below 50%,” said Malema.

Regarding potential coalitions, Malema said he would work with both the MK Party and the ANC, even if the parties didn’t want to work with each other. 

Earlier this week, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, an MK Party member and Zuma's daughter, said the MK Party would not work with the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa. 

With the vote-counting process almost finished, the EFF is sitting in fourth place nationally, with 9.48% of the votes counted so far.

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