EFF retains Polokwane’s Ward 13 in by-election

POLOKWANE - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has retained Polokwane’s Ward 13, winning the by-election by 966 votes.

This is the home ward of the party’s president, Julius Malema, who has been in his hometown of Seshego this week campaigning for the EFF councillor candidate Mongatane Ramaphoko.

Ramaphoko replaces his fellow party member, Mafiwa Leballo, who was expelled by the Polokwane council for failure to attend meetings.

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The EFF celebrations went well into the night with Malema leading the jubilant supporters in song.

The party had campaigned hard and invested a lot of resources to retain a ward it took from the African National Congress (ANC) in 2016.

Meanwhile, the ANC, which matched the EFF in campaigning efforts, came second with 2,404 votes.

It was a disappointing return for its alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP).

This was the communist party's first election since its congress resolved to no longer campaign for the ANC banner.

The SACP’s candidate only managed to get 1% of the vote, which translated to just 70 votes.