The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said it was expecting to fill up Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium when it holds its manifesto launch in February, ahead of the national general elections.
Provincial chairperson Mongezi Twala said the EFF was hoping to get 1 million votes in the province in next year’s elections, hence the decision to hold the launch in the province.
The elections are expected to be held between May and August next year, with President Cyril Ramaphosa to promulgate the date after meeting with the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
Prior to the 2021 local government elections, the party’s manifesto focused on issues of expropriation of land without compensation, building state and government capacity to abolish the tender system and providing free quality education, healthcare, housing and sanitation.
Twala said KZN was the second-largest voter region after Gauteng and all political parties would focus on the province.
“We feel there is room for growth in KZN and we are looking to double or triple our votes here, aiming for nothing less than a million votes.”
He said the party was self-funded and those in leadership positions would be responsible for ensuring that Moses Mabhida Stadium was filled to capacity in February.
The party recently expelled more than 60 leaders, including former provincial leader Vusi Khoza, after they failed to organise buses for constituents to attend the party’s 10th-anniversary celebrations in July.
At a press briefing earlier in July, EFF leader Julius Malema said that public representatives had a deadline of June 30 to secure buses that would ferry people to the rally.
He said those who failed to do so would be publicly exposed.
After the expulsion, it said that ”accountability, discipline and consequence management remains a guiding tool in the EFF and one that will ensure a capable and coherent government after 2024”.
Twala said the party did not receive funding like other parties and determination was needed to drive the self-funding model.
“Our manifesto will be launched after the last voter registration weekend before the elections and 90% of those at the manifesto launch will be volunteers, activists and party agents whose job is to mobilise people to vote.”
The Mercury