Malema clinches third term as EFF leader
Julius Malema has been voted as leader of the EFF, extending his power over the party for another five years.
The 2443 delegates at the EFF's elective and policy conference voted unanimously for Malema and other members of the party's top six were elected unopposed.
Malema has been at the helm of the since its inception in 2013, two years after he was expelled from the ANC. The EFF's constitution does not place any term limits for leadership.
Goodrich Gardee, the party’s former secretary-general, has been elected as the new deputy president. He replaces Malema's former right hand man, Floyd Shivambu who joined the Jacob Zuma-led MK Party in August.
Marshall Dlamini retains his position as secretary general while former chairperson, Veronica Mente has been replaced by EFF MP, Nontando Nolutshungu. EFF's spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys was voted as deputy secretary general, replacing Poppy Mailola.
The election of the new leaders comes at a time when the EFF contends with its slight electoral decline in the May elections and the impact which the emergence of other new left-leaning political formations have had on its appeal to its voter base.
These issues, amongst others, featured high on the topics of discussions at the EFF's National People's Assembly held over four days since Thursday.
In the organizational report, presented by Dlamini to delegates at the conference on Saturday, outlines the decline of the party's voter share between 2019 national and provincial elections and 2024.
"The organization's votes in the Metros on the provincial ballot decreased from 864 426 to 667 37, a reduction of 196 504 votes, which accounts for a 0.38%% decrease. The main contributors to this decline Thekwini (9.06%), the City of Johannesburg (2.43%6), Ekurthuleni (-1.71%), and the city of Tshwane (-0.81%)," the report reads.
