Johannesburg - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has seen rapid growth in rural areas over the past five years, and has grown a large support base in other party's strongholds especially in KwaZulu-Natal, spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said on Friday.
Briefing the media about the EFF's readiness to host its final elections campaign 'Tshupa Thela' rally in Soweto on Sunday, Ndlozi said the party had gone to the ground to build its branches from the beginning of last year and had held elective conferences in the provinces.
After the 2016 local government election, the EFF took a drastic decision to disband its KZN executive and all regional structures in the province in preparation for the 2019 general elections. But the gamble seems to have paid off as support for the party has been swelling since then.
"That was already a signal that we were going to make a big impact. You have seen it yourselves, particularly in KZN, that we are everywhere. We have left no village, no small town, not even the suburbs we have not left them unturned. We are there, we are present and we are going to have representation," Ndlozi said.
"It's really inspiring because one of the misconceptions was that the EFF is not finding expression and resonance among the older population. But our people, particularly the elderly, have come to appreciate what we are about over the five years. The EFF has grown with the most supersonic speed in the rural areas. Once we reached the villages in KZN, we grew up like popcorn in an oven."
Ndlozi said that the EFF had ran the most impressive campaign for next week's general election, and was expecting to receive between 12 and 15 percent of the vote, more than double the six percent in its first showing in 2014.
"When we closing the last provincial people's assembly, we were above half a million of people who have paid R10 to join the EFF. That means we have got an activist in half the people who voted for EFF in 2014," Ndlozi said.
"We are going to grow twice the numbers we got in 2014 by anyone's indication, both independent and not-so independent research. Nobody has ever done that in the history of South Africa's democracy without merging with other people. And the EFF has done that against one of the most harshest disinformation campaign."
EFF leader Julius Malema will deliver his final his election message to thousands of party supporters at Orlando Stadium on Sunday afternoon.