Leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema has framed next year’s general elections as a potential “true and revolutionary resurrection” of the country’s long-unfulfilled dreams of economic freedom.
In an Easter message released on Friday, the firebrand opposition leader drew parallels between the Christian symbolism of resurrection and his party’s quest to radically restructure the economy along more equitable lines.
“Easter is about resurrection, a concept that is highly relevant in a year where we have a responsibility to resurrect the dreams of Economic Freedom in our lifetime,” Malema stated.
He portrayed the 2024 polls as a “seminal moment” that will “shape our future” as a nation. Malema urged EFF supporters to find renewed energy ahead of what he deemed a make-or-break opportunity to revive the unfinished economic transformation envisioned by South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
“On behalf of the EFF, I wish you and your loved ones a blessed Easter weekend, as the country prepares for a true and revolutionary resurrection of the dreams of our forebears,” his message read.
“May you find peace and joy during this time and be re-energised ahead of a seminal moment of our times, the 2024 general elections, that will shape our future.”
Malema has long railed against South Africa’s enduring economic inequalities and the persistence of white minority capital nearly 30 years after the end of white minority rule.
His Economic Freedom Fighters advocate nationalization, land expropriation and other redistributive policies.
The EFF won just over 10% of the vote in 2019’s parliamentary elections. However, Malema will be hoping his clarion call positioning his party as torchbearers for the nation’s unfinished economic freedom struggle can uplift their fortunes at the polls next year.
The elections scheduled for May 29, 2024 will be South Africa’s seventh national and provincial elections since the end of apartheid in 1994. Voters will be electing a new National Assembly as well as provincial legislatures in each of the country’s nine provinces.
These will be hotly contested elections, as they could potentially upend the African National Congress (ANC) party’s long-held dominance of South African politics. The ANC has been in power since 1994, but has lost support in recent years due to corruption scandals and a struggling economy.
The main opposition parties looking to make inroads are the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema.
