These are the EFF strongholds across South Africa
With the 2016 Municipal Elections three months away, BusinessTech looks back on the 2014 National Elections to see where South Africa’s youngest political contender – the EFF – has the most support.
The EFF entered the political arena in 2013, following its leader Julius Malema being expelled from the ANC.
The party’s policies have been controversial, founded on the principals of “economic freedom” for the poor – with a strong focus on nationalisation and speeding up land-distribution. Its fundamentals lie in emancipating workers from “white capital” in South Africa, with ideals rooted in communism.
The party has been a constant thorn in the side of the ruling ANC, repeatedly disrupting official proceedings to chide president Jacob Zuma, and, controversially, threatened violent action in response to government’s failure to address issues it raises.
In the party’s Election 2016 Manifesto, it has targeted corruption and service delivery as its headline goals, while repeating its established promises of land reform and economic freedom for all.
The 2014 National Elections were the first poll the party contested, shooting up to be the third biggest party in the country with 1.17 million votes – and its support base has only grown over the past year and a half.
In the 2014 election, the EFF had the strongest support in North West, where it managed to capture 12.53% of the vote. Rustenburg is the party’s national stronghold, where it has the most support – 22.2% of the total vote.
The party’s weakest province is KwaZulu Natal – an ANC stronghold – where the EFF is the fifth strongest party, behind the IFP and the NFP.
In that province, the EFF’s strongest district was Greater Kokstad, where it scored a maximum 4.5% of the vote.
Despite its small showing in KZN, the party has the weakest overall support in the Western Cape, where it couldn’t capture more than 2.7% of the vote in any single district.
The following table is a breakdown of where the EFF has the strongest support base in South Africa – as well as the district in each province where they had the strongest showing.
| Province | % of the vote | Municipality | % of the vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| North West | 12.53% | Rustenburg | 22.22% |
| Limpopo | 10.27% | Polokwane | 16.31% |
| Gauteng | 10.26% | Tshwane | 11.41% |
| Free State | 7.89% | Nala | 10.83% |
| Mpumalanga | 6.15% | Dr JS Moroko | 10.08% |
| Northern Cape | 5.06% | Segonyana | 10.59% |
| Eastern Cape | 3.78% | Buffalo City | 6.01% |
| Western Cape | 2.32% | City of Cape Town | 2.72% |
| KwaZulu Natal | 1.97% | Greater Kokstad | 4.47% |
The 2016 Municipal Elections will be held on 3 August 2016.
More on the EFF
ANC to Malema: ‘don’t say we did not warn you’
ANC opens treason case against Malema
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