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Former EFF spokesperson Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has issued a lengthy response to EFF President Julius Malema following Malemaβs criticism of his decision not to vote in the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Malema had publicly questioned Ndloziβs decision to abstain, describing it as abnormal and counter-revolutionary.
Now Ndlozi has turned the conversation towards Malemaβs leadership and the EFFβs declining electoral support.
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π£οΈ βIn the end, the writing is on the wallβproperly displayed in percentages.β
He directly challenges Malema to account for the partyβs election performance, asking why its vote share has fallen so substantially.
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π΄ 2021: 10.3%
π΄ 2026: Approximately 6.2%
π Decline: 4.1 percentage points, or roughly 40% of its previous vote share.
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Ndlozi insists that his abstention was intentional and based on conscience.
He argues that voting is a constitutional right, not an obligation that political leaders can impose on citizens.
He says registered voters who deliberately stay away from polling stations may be expressing dissatisfaction with the political choices available to them.
According to Ndlozi, refusing to vote can itself communicate a political message.
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Ndlozi argues that political parties must earn electoral support through their performance rather than demand loyalty from voters.
He describes the belief that leaders are entitled to peopleβs votes as authoritarian.
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Ndlozi points to the ANCβs electoral history, arguing that Nelson Mandelaβs ANC failed to win KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape in 1994, while Thabo Mbekiβs ANC won both provinces in 2004.
He uses this comparison to argue that political parties can gain support through their record in government rather than relying on historical loyalty.
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Ndlozi also refers to the 2014 protest campaign associated with anti-apartheid activist Ronnie Kasrils and other prominent figures.
He argues that deliberately spoiling a ballot or abstaining can be a legitimate expression of political dissatisfaction.
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Ndlozi ends his response by directing Malema back to the election results, arguing that the percentages themselves provide the measure of the partyβs performance.
π₯ The exchange highlights a disagreement between the former EFF colleagues over voter participation, political accountability and the meaning of the partyβs electoral decline.
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