The EFF’s destructive turn will be the end of the party

In the aftermath of the May 2024 general elections, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has embarked on a detrimental internal trajectory. 

Gone is the party that had positioned itself as the champion of pan-Africanism and continental unity. The enraged Red Berets are going down a rabbit hole of domestic politics, thanks largely to their rejection by the electorate at the polls. 

Their focus now is a localised witch-hunt, finding scapegoats for the release of their anger and frustration. Their targets at the moment are the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party,  its founder Jacob Zuma and associates and some journalists. 

Zuma is an easy target, the certified face of corruption, already condemned by society as responsible for the “nine wasted years”, state capture and more. Even if MK was being unfairly targeted by the EFF, no pity is reserved for a party that is deemed a Zulu tribal outfit and a sanctuary for rogues.

Zuma’s party is paying the price for the senior EFF leaders who have defected to it in the past few months. An ordinary incident of changing party membership in South Africa has suddenly become a grievous sin, according to the EFF. 

Those who participated in floor-crossing in the past were not declared enemies by their former political homes but the EFF handles things with superior logic. 

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has long pronounced the EFF its “political enemy” is moving along unscathed. So far, there has been little reflection and introspection on what went wrong in its 2024 hustings and no one is being held accountable for its poor showing. For the EFF, the straightforward and convenient thing to do is to sniff for wrongs outside the Winnie Madikizela Mandela House, such is the disingenuous economic emancipation movement.

Electoral cycles can appear either long or short, depending on party performance in the previous polls. If a party has excelled, time just flies by, as it is caught up in the euphoria of outclassing opponents, cherishing the confirmation that its manifesto and campaign resonated with the electorate. 

But poor electoral performance can plunge a party into internal turmoil; a bickering and blame fest. In such scenarios, the five-year electoral cycle becomes long and arduous and members and supporters might lose interest and reconsider their options. 

It matters what happens between elections. Political parties are bookended by results from the previous polls and the outcome of the next. It is within this cycle that parties such as the EFF find themselves locked in for the next five years.  

While the central command continues to put on a brave face, the chopping and changing has begun as the dismal showing that left them at 9% towers over the party. The stark reality is that the EFF has reached its ceiling and the only way forward is decline. 

It is much easier for members to abandon ship and join other parties, as spectacularly demonstrated by Floyd Shivambu, Mzwanele Manyi and Busisiwe Mkhwebane, than for a party to renounce or redirect its ideological orientation. 

Abandoning its ideological outlook outlook and policy positions could be costly; the party is likely to lose all credibility in the eyes of voters. This is why the EFF is doubling down as it desperately attempts to inundate society with orthodox Marxist-Leninist rhetoric as witnessed at their National People’s Assembly in December. Without the support of the electorate, there is no point in a political party existing.   

Election results are a gamechanger. The potency of numbers cannot be overstated. The results ushered in a new chapter when South Africa ended up with a grand coalition of 10 parties, dubbed the government of national unity. 

Out the window went the slogans of small parties claiming “2024 is our 1994” clatter about electoral reform, and independent candidates vanished with no goodbyes. Julius Malema had been certain he was on the cusp of occupying the west wing of the Union Buildings. After the 2019 elections, the EFF acted like an entity that was in charge of its destiny. Members were convinced that its growing numbers at the polls were a result of their intrinsic qualities and ingenuity. 

Once the May 2024 results were out, the EFF had to swiftly improvise and find a scapegoat. The 2019 electoral cycle was gone, the EFF was no longer cruising nicely. And the indifferent manner in which Malema has handled the resignation of Mbuyiseni Ndlozi from parliament further confirms the harmfulness of the party’s domestic turn. Only more self-mutilation can be expected.  

The electoral cycle going towards 2029 has not only brought an end to ANC majority rule, it has also signalled an end to the era of a liberation movement and its related offshoots, such as the EFF and MK party, ruling. 

As the EFF continues its path of self-harm, society cannot expect any better from the supposed alternatives, such as the MK party. 

South Africa should march ahead, leaving behind this chapter, and secure the middle-of the road parties which resonate with most voters. 

Dr Mabutho Shangase is a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations at North-West University. @nativconscience