Durban - The EFF is confident that it will be the surprise package in KZN during the upcoming elections, after convincing many voters to vote for it on August 3.
The party remains hopeful that it will bag at least six councils in KZN, and also become a key player in coalitions in others.
“We are going to have the necessary impact. The good thing about KZN is that it is the only province where in five years a municipality can shift from one party to another,” EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu said.
“It does not happen in other areas, but only in KZN, so that’s why we say we can win,” he said in an interview on Thursday, in reference to KZN councils changing hands between the IFP, ANC and NFP.
Shivambu, along with commissar Marshall Dlamini and other party members, descended on Durban’s uMlazi township to put posters on the Mangosuthu Highway on Thursday as early as 7am, before conducting a door-to-door campaign. Party canvassers were armed with sheets of paper, which they used to record people who they visited.
This came days after the party welcomed disgruntled members from the ANC who were unhappy with the imposition of candidate councillors.
It came weeks after the NFP’s disqualification and also the ANC’s troubles in councillor nominations, while EFF engaged in fewer rallies, but focused more on direct interaction with voters.
Speaking to the Daily News, Shivambu said their strategy was to conduct more contact with people committed to vote for the EFF.
“Almost everywhere in KZN, when we organise gatherings, there would be attempts to try to disrupt our meetings by the ANC, because the ANC is scared of the existence of EFF,” he said.
He was convinced that their strategy would pay dividends on August 3 in the overall vote they would receive.
“Voter contact is the most important tool for campaigning than any other thing you can ever engage in. We are to do very well in KZN,” Shivambu said.
“It will be the biggest growth for the EFF since the 2014 elections. We are to win about six alone, and the rest possibly in coalition,” he said.
The firebrand party has not left anything to chance in the wake of the NFP’s disqualification.
“Already NFP members have expressed interest in joining the EFF’s campaign in Mkhanyakude, Zululand, parts of uThukela, Mzinyathi and Ugu… There are going to be significant changes because of that dynamic,” Shivambu said.
He also said they had not sat on their laurels in the wake of revolt by ANC members owing to the handling of councillor nominations.
“ANC branches invite the leadership of the EFF, and commissar Marshall has been going around addressing former members of the ANC who are not happy with imposed councillors,” Shivambu said, adding that the disgruntled ANC members wanted to prevent “imposed” councillors from winning.
He also said the majority of 67 independent councillors in eThekwini have committed to encouraging their supporters to vote for the EFF in the proportional representation vote.
“That is how we are to have an impact in eThekwini. We are to be a role-player in terms of outcomes of elections,” he said.
“The ANC is going to be reduced significantly because they messed up their own internal issues.”
He said the EFF was now an “automatic choice” for black voters in KZN.
However, Shivambu said their electioneering in the province had not been without intimidation, as their members were not welcomed in some parts of the province, including Gamalakhe on the South Coast, and Folweni in Durban.