Malema pledges ward programme after EFF election losses

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said the party would redirect resources to its 37 winning wards after losing 612,326 votes in South Africa’s 2026 local government elections, and called for progressive parties to cooperate. He said the EFF would use the result to reorganise ahead of the 2029 national and provincial elections.

Malema reported that the EFF received about 1.8 million votes, down from 2.4 million in the 2021 local elections. Its national standing fell from third to fourth, he said. The figures and the party’s account of its ward results were presented by Malema at a media briefing; the proposed community programme was described as an intention, not as work already under way.

The EFF plans a 100-day programme in the 37 wards it won, focusing on local needs such as water shortages and deteriorating roads. Malema said councillors should address community problems even when the party does not control an entire municipality. He also said the EFF could use its own resources for water infrastructure and smaller road improvements.

The party’s national losses coincided with ward-level gains, according to Malema. He said it won 37 wards, compared with 19 in 2021,...