EFF claims victory after doubling number of votes
THE EFF has claimed victory in the Western Cape after doubling its votes compared with the 2014 election, earning itself two seats in the provincial legislature.
In 2014, the party won 2.1% and a seat in the legislature. However, in the 2019 final count, the party managed 4% with 82 000 votes.
EFF deputy secretary in the province Songeze Phahlindlela said this was a big win, as it had managed to outperform older parties.
“As the EFF, we accept the results. We have doubled our previous results which were 2%, we are now sitting with 4% in the province.
“This is a victory. There is no other party that has doubled the number of bites that we have, both national and provincial. All these parties are decreasing in votes. We are like an elephant, eating these votes bits by bits,” said Phahlindlela.
The party has significantly increased its votes in all nine provinces and is set to become the main opposition in Mpumalanga.
The ANC and DA have maintained their positions as leading political parties in other provinces, but with lower percentages than previously.
Phahlindlela said the EFF will go back to its people and intensify efforts in preparation for the local elections.
“Going forward to 2021 as the EFF we need to intensify our door to door, speaking to our people. If you check, the turnout was very low this year compared to previous elections. Our people are not fully participating in the electoral process. We need to engage our people and encourage them to participate fully.”
The party has relied on one member in the provincial legislature since the 2014 election. It is now expected to have two representatives.
Phahlindlela said the party made its presence felt and it was looking forward to bringing more changes with its growing numbers.
“The representation we had previously in the provincial legislature, one member, we were able to raise issues including the renaming of street names in the province. No one was taking care of Central Karoo before the EFF. We managed to go as far as Central Karoo to address people’s issues.
“We have been to every corner with the one representative that we had, our presence will be felt even more when we have two representatives,” said Phahlindlela.
He conceded that the Western Cape was challenging for the party to garner support as a “white” province.
He said his party was hoping to create an understanding with white South Africans to appreciate its policies.
“We are focusing on all voters generally, not a specific race group. The only issue with white people and our policies is not that they are antiwhite.
“Our policies are anti-white privilege and white people tend to enjoy white privilege at the expense of black people. We are going to educate them on why this needs to change in the province,” said Phahlindlela.