Malema said the EFF will not be bullied or intimidated by 'arrogant' rivals during coalition talks.
EFF leader Julius Malema has called on the ANC to abandon government of national unity (GNU) partner the DA and work with black progressive parties.
Malema reflected on his party’s performance in the 2026 Local Government Elections on Saturday.
With 2% of the national vote still to be announced, the EFF looks to have got about 6.2% of the total votes. In 2021, it got 10.3%, making it the third-biggest party at the time.
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The party will now sit around the table with other major parties to form coalitions in dozens of metros and municipalities.
Asked about the party’s stance ahead of coalitions, he said the EFF would not be bullied or intimidated by arrogant rivals.
“In negotiations, if people still want to be arrogant. Do you know what we will do? We will fold our arms.”
If they are asked, the ANC must let Ramaphosa go
He said coalition discussions are an opportune moment for the MK party, EFF, SACP, and ANC to come together and “reject enemy forces”.
“It is time for the ANC to come back. The ANC must come back and say: ‘Let me look for my children, brothers and cousins that I have lost on my way because of my arrogance.
“If the MK party puts the demand that Ramaphosa must go, the ANC must agree that Ramaphosa must go because we are in this mess because of him.
“You are losing your organisation because you are protecting an individual. He is gone.
“Let’s go back to the drawing board and take back that which represents progress.”
Malema lamented that the current political climate is filled with fragmented political parties, competing liberation narratives, and ideological divisions without strategic consolidation.
“The oppressed are increasingly divided among themselves, while the structure of historical power remains remarkably resilient. When people are hurting and have lost faith in themselves, they may put these same forces back in.
“That is why we find ourselves where we are today, where in townships and black communities our people vote for the enemy”
He said progressive parties should have worked together.
“We should have put our personal differences aside, put the dislikes aside, prioritised service delivery and communicated the same message of wanting to do better for our people.”
ActionSA’s ‘predicament’
Malema suggested that among the most interesting coalition discussions will involve ActionSA, which won 17% of the votes in Gauteng in these elections and would want positions in Gauteng metros for their success.
“No negotiation is going to allow ActionSA to govern two metros. Now they are confronting a predicament to choose [Tshwane mayor] Nasiphi [Moya]- that they used to garner support in Tshwane and projected her as a champion of service delivery- and [Herman] Mashaba. One must live, and the other must die. There is going to be a problem.
“Mashaba will not accept [not being mayor], and Helen [Zille] will not accept that Mashaba must be mayor and she is compromised. She is not going to agree to that.
“The games have not ended; they have just started.
He said the EFF’s secretary-general Marshall Dlamini will announce their coalition negotiating team on Monday.
First 100 days
Malema also hit back at critics who said the party was no longer a major player, saying the party will show its national power at the general elections in 2029.
In the meantime, he pledged to pour resources into the 37 wards the EFF won to start programmes to help communities.
He said there is nothing stopping councillors from fixing infrastructure in the face of “nonsense” bylaws.
“If they fight us, we will fight them in court.
“Why should anyone be without water in an EFF community? We cannot wait for mediocrity.”
