EFF to participate in elections
The Economic Freedom Fighters will be submitting the election participation fee of R600 000 to the Independent Electoral Commission after the North Gauteng High Court dismissed their interdict, the party said.
The controversial political party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Wednesday handed over all the necessary Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) requirements to participate in the 2014 general elections, the party said. This comes after the Pretoria High Court dismissed the party’s interdict against the payment deposit of a total of R600 000 to the IEC to take part in the elections.
The IEC marked Wednesday as the last day for political parties intending to participate in the general elections to pay deposits and to submit necessary documents as well as candidates’ lists. “All fighters are encouraged to come in their numbers to support the handing over of the IEC requirements,” EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi had said.
Last week, the EFF had taken to the streets of Pretoria to launch an application at the North Gauteng High Court against President Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor and the IEC as they felt the R600 000 fee was unfair to new entrants.
During the march however, EFF member Mack Dikgale, lost his life after he collapsed outside the High Court. “He was running on Church Square and got tripped by the chains around President Paul Kruger’s statue. He fell on his head and sustained severe injuries. It was an accident,” Ndlozi explained.
Members in Laudium had gathered to pay their last respect to their fellow fighter last week. Meanwhile, EFF leader Julius Malema told supporters that he would finance Dikgale’s funeral. “We are going to bury him. His family is not going to pay a cent. We are taking full responsibility. We have lost a friend and a fellow member,” Malema had reportedly said. Dikgale will be buried on Saturday in Limpopo.
