“We accept this mandate with humility,” - EFF’s Julius Malema

EFF leader Julius Malema has thanked South Africans who voted for the party, following what appears to be a drop in its electoral fortunes in the 2024 polls.

As at 4.39am, the EFF had received 9.62% votes, with early projections placing it at fourth place nationally, behind former President Jacob Zuma’s MK Party.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research predicts the red berets will walk away with 9,4% of the vote, from 10.8% in 2019, thus gaining fewer seats in the National Assembly.

In a post on X on Friday morning, Malema said the EFF’s resolute commitment to continue fighting for economic freedom for black people remains unshaken.

“We extend our deepest appreciation to you the people of South Africa, for your continued support of the EFF. A special thank you to the dedicated ground forces, Commissars, party agents and all volunteers of our revolutionary movement.

“We accept this mandate with humility and are determined to continue our responsibilities to serve you. Our resolute commitment to fighting for economic freedom for black people remains unshaken and we are privileged to have the opportunity to work towards this generational mission in our lifetime,” said Malema

Before 8am on Friday, the Electoral Commission of SA's results dashboard had crashed.

IEC spokesperson, David Mandaha, said they were working on restoring the service.

"We apologise for the issue with our public-facing NPE system and are working on restoring service. The results system is still operational and local offices continue to capture results," said Mandaha.