Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) secretary-general Marshall Dlamini says the party was fully prepared for the 2026 Local Government Elections but has expressed disappointment with the results emerging so far.
Speaking as vote counting continued on Thursday, Dlamini said the party had put the necessary structures and preparations in place ahead of the elections, making its performance particularly disappointing.
The EFF entered the elections seeking to strengthen its position in municipalities and reverse the setbacks it experienced in previous electoral contests.
In the lead-up to the polls, Dlamini had expressed confidence in the party’s organisational capacity, pointing to its restructuring of local structures, voter registration efforts and campaign preparations.
The party had also said it was contesting all 4,400 wards nationally, with the aim of securing outright victories in municipalities where it believed it had sufficient support.
However, preliminary results showed the EFF struggling to maintain its traditional position as the country’s third-largest political party. The MK Party had moved ahead of it nationally, while the EFF was also trailing in several Gauteng metropolitan municipalities.
The party remained hopeful that its performance would improve as more results were captured. EFF treasurer-general Omphile Maotwe said party agents had reported encouraging results from voting stations, although these had not yet been reflected in the official figures.
Dlamini’s comments come amid growing questions about the factors behind the party’s declining support, particularly in areas where it previously enjoyed a strong presence.
The EFF’s final performance will become clearer once the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) completes the counting and announces the official results.
