The EFF is celebrating 10 years of “unbroken struggle” having been formed on July 26, the anniversary of the movement that sparked the Cuban revolution.
This was after the expulsion of then leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, and the suspension of his colleagues.
While many believed the EFF didn’t have what it takes to establish themselves as a key roleplayer in South African politics, positing that the hype around the party’s formation will eventually wear off and disperse, they replaced the Congress of the People (COPE) – another ANC breakaway – as the third biggest party in South Africa and, unlike COPE, who had a strong showing at their first elections only to shrink almost to non-existent in the next, they increased their National Assembly seats from 25 in the 2014 elections to 40 in the 2019 elections.
