Defend Truth

Opinionista

The EFF is in line to be the official opposition

mm

Rebone Tau is a political commentator and author of The Rise and Fall of the ANCYL. She is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Pan-African Thought & Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg. She writes in her personal capacity.

These elections will see the EFF becoming the main opposition party after the 8 May. The EFF will grow bigger than the DA because the EFF speaks the language of the poor better than the DA.

This, the most interesting election for the people of South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994, is between the ANC and the EFF. The ANC has not previously had to contend with a young opposition party loved by some of the less privileged.

In 1994 the contest was between the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which had been operating within the country, while the ANC, with other political parties, had come from exile. The ANC, EFF and IFP had their final rallies on Sunday while the DA and the UDM held theirs on Saturday.

The EFF is the PAC of today. The PAC was formed when Robert Sobukwe and others, who were ANC Youth League members at the time, were expelled from the ANC. The PAC and the ANC were not far from each other ideologically.

The EFF is a political party that was formed after the expulsion of ANC Youth League leaders and some ANC members, in a similar fashion to how the PAC was formed.

Unfortunately, the PAC was banned immediately after its launch, but it had gained momentum by the time it was banned. Just like the EFF gained momentum in the 2014 municipal elections shortly after it was launched. In this election, the EFF will be the biggest opposition party, because the DA will not win the election in the Western Cape.

The Good party has taken the vote from the DA, which means no party can claim the Western Cape. This will be a hung province which, not for the first time, will be under a coalition in the next administration. We have seen the challenges coalition governments in some municipalities encounter. The coalition must put the people of the Western Cape first and gangsters must be dealt with as innocent people die on the Cape Flats.

These elections will see the EFF becoming the main opposition party after the 8 May. The EFF will grow bigger than the DA because the EFF speaks the language of the poor better than the DA.

This is because those in the EFF know how to mobilise as they are former members of the ANC. The EFF understands the ANC language when it engages with communities, so the EFF appeals to the people more than the DA.

The ANC and the EFF will vote together on most issues in Parliament, the first time in democratic South Africa that the main opposition will support the ruling party.

While the PAC was never a pro-white party, we see the EFF says it has space for white people within the party, while the ANC is a non-racial party. DM

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.