The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema stated on Wednesday that disallowing political parties from campaigning undermines the freeness and fairness of elections, and will compromise South Africa’s democratic project.

The elections are scheduled for October 27. However, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa has approached the Constitutional Court to have the local government elections postponed, saying that it is not possible to hold free and fair elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Malema called on government to open the country for free and fair elections, saying free and fair elections were primarily defined by the democratic right to freely and fairly campaign before voting day.

He said political parties must be allowed to convene political gatherings and engage members of the community.

The EFF will launch its official manifesto on September 26, in Johannesburg, the same day as the official opening of the EFF headquarters.

Malema explained that the launch of the party’s manifesto would proceed even if the elections were postponed to a later date by the Constitutional Court processes.

The party confirmed that it would be contesting elections in local, district and metropolitan municipalities in all 4 468 wards.

Malema said while the party was of the strong conviction that the existing environment did not permit free and fair elections owing to restrictions on gatherings, the party had nonetheless complied with the IEC’s due date for submission of candidates lists before 21:00 on Monday.

The party said it had written to the IEC to demand a detailed technical report on the times each political party submitted candidates for local government elections as it is unsure whether all other political parties have complied with the due date.

“We did so because the rules and timetables for elections must be adhered to by all political parties. We call on the IEC to be honest because its independence and autonomy seems to be disappearing under the current leadership,” Malema said.

POVERTY & VACCINES

He went on to point out that the levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa were rising.

“This anti-black government cannot guarantee access to basic services such as water and electricity. Municipalities are dysfunctional and majority defined by factional in-fighting. The extent and levels of unemployment in South Africa is at a crisis level,” he added.

He said that despite the party’s protest action calling for the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) to source vaccines from Russia and China, government continued to solely import vaccines from the West.

“This government continues to frustrate efforts to source vaccines from Russia and China despite their proven superior efficacy, even against the Delta variant of Covid-19. It is evident now that the current administration is obsessed with transactions as opposed to saving lives and insulating our people from the Coronavirus disease,” Malema said.

The Russian vaccine Sputnik is currently under rolling review by the Sahpra.