South African EFF party leader Julius Malema casts his vote in pivotal election

Record ID: 1822052

  • Title: South African EFF party leader Julius Malema casts his vote in pivotal election
  • Date: 29th May 2024
  • Summary: SESHEGO, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA (MAY 29, 2024) (REUTERS) SOUTH AFRICAN OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER JULIUS MALEMA OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS (EFF) PARTY GETTING OUT OF VEHICLE WITH HIS WIFE MANTOA MATLALA AT VOTING STATION AT MPONEGELE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN ZONE 1 MASAKANENG, SESHEGO MALEMA WEARING PALESTINIAN FLAG OVER WINNIE MANDELA T-SHIRT, WAVING AT CROWD MALEMA WALKING MALEMA
  • Embargoed: 12th June 2024 16:37
  • Keywords: africa change democracy eff elections government issues julius lawmakers malema opposition politics polls social society south southern voting
  • Location: SESHEGO, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
  • City: SESHEGO, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Africa,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA001627128052024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party Julius Malema arrived at a voting station in Seshego, Limpopo, on Wednesday (May 29), where he joined the queue to vote in the most competitive election since the end of apartheid.
    Opinion polls have suggested the African National Congress (ANC) could lose its parliamentary majority after 30 years in government.
    Video footage showed the founding leader of the EFF and firebrand former leader of the ANC's youth wing sporting a Palestinian flag over a t-shirt of anti-apartheid heroine Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. He waved at the crowd and took a selfie with a fellow voter before casting his ballot.
    "It’s a turning point,” he told Reuters, adding that “the voters will decide (in) which direction we are going".
    Malema’s party aims to nationalise mines and banks and seize land from white farmers to address racial and economic disparities.
    Opinion polls suggest EFF support has been hovering between 10 and 12%, far short of the ANC on 37-44%, but Malema could find himself in position to be a kingmaker depending on the election results.
    More than 27 million South Africans are registered to vote at more than 23,000 polling stations where voting will continue until 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).
    The electoral commission is expected to start releasing partial results within hours of polling stations closing and the final results are due within three to four days.
    (Production: Hugo Boogaerdt, Lynné Schoeman)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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