Malema calls EFF's election result 'a setback, not a defeat' as support falls to 6.2%

EFF leader Julius Malema says the party’s drop in support in the local government elections is “a setback” and “not a defeat”, and that the party will review its performance ward by ward.

What Malema said

“A setback is not a defeat,” Malema said at a briefing at the IEC’s results centre in Midrand. He said the EFF remains a people’s movement despite the setback and that “we will not make excuses”.

Describing the party’s position, he said: “scars do not represent defeat — they represent survival”.

He said the party will “take stock as an organisation of our performances ward by ward, municipality by municipality, and province by province”.

The numbers

The report says EFF support fell from 10.3% in the 2021 local elections to 6.2% in 2026, and that the party lost third place to the MK Party. Malema said the EFF lost 612,326 votes nationally. The figure is his and has not been independently verified.

The next national and provincial elections are in 2029.

What we do not yet know

The report gives no EFF seat numbers and no stance from Malema on coalitions. The 6.2% and 612,326 figures are not sourced in the report, and the IEC has not yet confirmed the party’s official share.