Julius Malema Sets Conditions for EFF Joining GNU, Says DA and FF Plus Must Leave First

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says the party is not opposed to participating in the Government of National Unity (GNU), provided the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus are not part of it.

His comments come after African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party may need to review its relationship with the DA, following the latter’s support for the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) opposition to the ANC’s bid to reinstate 181 disqualified councillor candidates, ahead of the local government elections.

Malema was speaking on Sunday in Soweto after conducting a door-to-door campaign ahead of the 4 November local government elections.

We are not opposed to participating in GNU. If Helen walks tomorrow, and that other one of Correctional Service, the Freedom Front, walk, we’ll go inside.

Malema said the EFF would not support a GNU that included parties he associated with the killing of liberation struggle figures Chris Hani and Solomon Mahlangu.

And they were not asking for freedom to vote, they were children. And you killed them. And those are the people we must sit with. We are not going to allow that.

He also rejected claims that the EFF was unsuitable for coalition government because of its political conduct, pointing to the ANC’s own governance challenges. Malema said the EFF was focused on winning the elections rather than speculating about possible coalition arrangements in metropolitan municipalities.

Well, we go to elections to win.