/ 19 August 2013

EFF delays Marikana party launch

Kenny Kunene from the Economic Freedom Fighters party during a service delivery protest on August 7 2013 in Fochville.
Kenny Kunene from the Economic Freedom Fighters party during a service delivery protest on August 7 2013 in Fochville.

"Economic Freedom Fighters have, after careful legal advice, decided to postpone the official launch that was planned for Marikana this weekend."

Spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said on Monday the process for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to certify the EFF as a political party had not been completed.

"Since this process has not completed, it means [the] … decision to launch EFF as a political party in Marikana will be premature till the IEC process has confirmed the EFF and certified it as a political party."

The EFF, led by axed ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, decided to register as a political party at its national assembly in Soweto last month.

Last Thursday, the IEC confirmed that the EFF had submitted documents to register as a political party.

The party intended to contest the elections next year.

'Fighters'
​At the launch in Marikana, the party would have demonstrated its certificate of registration as an official political party.

"Fighters", as members of the EFF call each other, would continue the formation of ground structures in building the organisational depth of the party as rigorously as it has been unfolding, including mass work, in the form of rallies, protests, agitations and lectures, Ndlozi said.

He said the announcement of the new date for the launch would be in consideration of the IEC's timeline registration process and the party's central command team meeting later this week.

Last Friday, during the first anniversary of the Marakana killings, Malema accused President Jacob Zuma of having the miners' blood on his hands. – Sapa