Red-faced red berets mocked countrywide for “zero (0)” votes
The EFF is the butt of a countrywide joke, after receiving zero votes in Wednesday’s Ward 14 by-election, where the DA achieved a record, receiving just short of 97% of the 937 votes cast.
The Middelburg and Hendrina Residents Front, represented by pastor Tinus van der Merwe, received 23 votes and Mahmood Akhalwaya from the ANC nine votes.
The EFF’s failure to draw any support caught the attention of two Johannesburg businessmen, who wasted no time creating memes, one depicting Julius Malema, the EFF leader, slumped on the ground against a wall and blankly staring into the distance.
In another, the meme depicts Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in stitches, while grabbing onto the arms of his chair.
In the Malema meme, businessman M. Mditshwa writes: “Congratulations to the EFF candidate who in yesterday’s by-election in Steve Tshwete (Middelburg) got zero (0) votes.”
Mr Morena Tsolo, who created the Zondo meme, was less tongue-in-cheek, unflatteringly branding the EFF a “vigilante group”.
He captioned the meme: “EFF candidate in yesterday’s by-election in Steve Tshwete (Middelburg) got zero (0) votes. South Africans must continue to reject this vigilante group.”
Mr Mditshwa’s meme gained even more traction online when it was shared by Yasmeen Ranchod from Durban.
EFF candidate Ntombizodwa Mthobeni is, however, already in council, having obtained a proportional seat during the 2021 local government elections.
The joke was not lost on local residents, who are sharing Mr Mditshwa’s meme on various WhatsApp groups, including a group for old SAPS members.
Hundreds of locals have reacted with the laughing face emoji, while others simply opted to react with a beating red heart.
One resident remarked how “the EFF’s red faces complement their red berets”.
