The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) elective conference starting at the Nasrec Expo Centre, in Soweto, where the new leadership is expected to be elected, including filling the position of deputy president amid Floyd Shivambu’s exit to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) party. Picture: Simon Majadibodu / IOL The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) elective conference starting at the Nasrec Expo Centre, in Soweto, where the new leadership is expected to be elected, including filling the position of deputy president amid Floyd Shivambu’s exit to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) party. Picture: Simon Majadibodu / IOL
Image: Picture: Simon Majadibodu / IOL
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is kicking off a three-day National People’s Assembly (NPA) on Friday at the Nasrec Expo Centre, Soweto, which will see the election of new leaders.
In the next coming three days, new leadership will be elected, including filling the position of deputy president amid Floyd Shivambu’s exit to Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MKP) party.
Key topics for discussion include the party’s preparation for the 2026 local government, the exit of key members to MK Party and the decline of its performance during the May 29 general elections.
The EFF was overshadowed by the MK Party and failed to gain more votes as a result.
The conference is set to kick off at 9am on Friday morning, with 2,500 expected to attend the conference.
EFF president, Julius Malema, will deliver a keynote address, setting the tone for the conference and highlighting the significance and outlining its strategic priorities.
On the same day, another portion of the agenda is set to be held behind closed doors, while the nomination and election of the party’s new leaders will happen on Saturday.
Malema’s speech will be followed by the address delivered by the party’s outgoing secretary-general, Marshall Dlamini, on Saturday, who will be presenting the organisational report to the delegates.
Dlamini’s report will outline the state of the party and assess its performance, including challenges and achievements over the past five years.
The conference started with controversy on Thursday when delegates and party members were registering for the conference at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Soweto Campus.
This absence of a former spokesperson and Member of Parliament (MP) Mbuyiseni Nlozi sparked questions, and it remains unclear whether he has been barred from attending the conference.
Speaking at the party’s state of readiness at the centre on Thursday, Dlamini admitted that the poor performance of the EFFin KwaZulu-Natal had significantly affected the party’s overall support nationwide.
Dlamini said the party is not happy about the decline of voters and they will utilise the conference to regain lost ground, especially in KZN, where Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSiswe party overshadowed the party’s performance and voters.
“We are not happy with our performance in KZN, and we have said so,” he said.
Dlamini said the party’s leadership even went to the province to engage with the members about the poor performance.
“They know we are not happy with our status, we have lost some votes here in Gauteng,” he said.
“However, everywhere in the country we have retained our votes and we are happy with the base, because in 10 years, we have been a solid base that cannot be shaken up easily,” Dlamini said.
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