Durban - The EFF in KwaZulu-Natal increased its support in the province five fold in the 2019 elections, compared to their showing in the 2014 elections.
When the party clinched the 300 000 votes they burst into song at the IEC’s regional operations centre in Mayville, Durban, on Friday.
At the final vote count the EFF secured 8 seats and 349 361 votes, increasing their seat allocation to eight from two, and growing their votes five fold.
EFF KZN chairperson Vusi Khoza said the party mobilised throughout the province.
“What we did different from 2014 is that we went to the ground and we listened to the people. We did the groundwork, we went door to door, we were everywhere, informal settlements, every city, every suburb, we went to talk to the people direct and this is the outcome,” he said.
EFF KZN chairperson Vusi Khoza said the party campaigned "everywhere" in the province. Video: Sihle Mlambo
He said land expropriation without compensation and jobs were there top priorities heading into the sixth Parliament.
He said the EFF was calling on the scrapping of the tender system.
“We are going to get rid of tenders as EFF and employ people direct, insource the jobs of cleaners and security. Once we are able to do that we give them proper long-term jobs with better salaries and benefits, breaking the back of poverty,” he said.
He said the growth the party had shown was phenomenal.
“Even if we stopped at 300 000 votes it would still be great, comparing that at 2014 we were at 70 000 and to grow to 350 000 is phenomenal growth, we are excited and we appreciate what the voters have given us. We are grateful to our ground forces who have been going door to door in the sun, in the rain to contribute to this growth, we salute them,” he said.