The EFF was the ANC’s first coalition choice – Newsday

Following the landmark 2024 national elections which saw the African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority, the party’s scramble to form a functioning government of national unity (GNU) began with a clear internal directive: prioritise engaging the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

According to Nomvula Mokonyane, the ANC Deputy Secretary General (DSG), the EFF was not only the party’s initial focus but also the very first political formation they interacted with during the critical negotiation period.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with SMWX, Mokonyane said that the ANC’s National Executive put together a negotiating team, mandated to “go and talk to everybody”.

The ANC was “very ready” to work with the EFF in the immediate aftermath of the election results, said Mokonyane, with the ANC and EFF making up a collective 198 seats in the 400 seat National Assembly.

This prioritisation aligns with the counsel the ANC received from its tripartite alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP).

Accodrding to the ANC DSG, the SACP advised the ANC leadership to prioritise the far-left EFF ‘to ensure state power was not lost’, a commitment the ANC claims it honored.

The EFF, led by former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema, is a splinter group of the ANC and works together across the country in local government coalitions.

EFF was our first interaction – ANC

Mokonyane, who was part of the negotiating team, confirmed that the EFF was “the first people we interacted with interestingly.”

However, she said that the talks quickly revealed the deep fissures and antagonistic intentions behind the EFF’s willingness to engage.

According to Mokonyane, the ANC’s readiness to work with the Red Berets was met with counter-intending demands and aggressive tactics.

Mokonyane recounted a meeting where the former EFF deputy, Floyd Shivambu, delivered a stark warning to the ANC.

According to Mokonyane, Shivambu said that the EFF wanted to work with the ANC, but their underlying motive was lethal: “our intention is to strangle you and kill you and bury you.”

Despite this adversarial stance, the EFF tabled specific, non-negotiable demands, according to the ANC DSG.

Their primary condition for partnership centered on gaining the Deputy President position, especially if the ANC was unwilling to remove President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The ANC’s negotiating team immediately dismissed this ultimatum, stating plainly, “that’s not how you negotiate”.

The ANC met with the EFF negotiation team four times in total. However, the later rounds became increasingly toxic.

The final meeting was described by Mokonyane as a “very painful experience,” marked by hostility and insults.

During this last interaction, Mokonyane said that the EFF negotiating team “lectured [the ANC], told us how useless we are,” and declared their strategy to mobilise all, including the Democratic Alliance, to counter the ANC’s candidate in parliamentary processes.

She said that Shivambu led this charged interaction, which culminated in him standing up and leaving after delivering the “lecture and the insult”.

This conditional and insulting approach ultimately led to the failure of the initial, prioritised talks.

The eventual formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) saw the ANC opt for a much broader strategy, engaging with nearly every elected party, including those with only one representative.

The GNU consists the ANC, DA, IFP, PA, VF Plus, UDM, Al Jama Ah, PAC, GOOD, and RISE.

The EFF claimed it turned down the coalition due to the inclusion of the DA and VF Plus.

Mokonyane noted the ANC’s negotiation strategy involved the ANC meeting and signing a separate Statement of Intent with each participating party, rather than agreeing to a single grand coalition document signed by all.

This approach allowed the ANC to consolidate its influence and retain key executive positions despite its weakened electoral performance, thus winning the negotiations even though they had lost the election.

While the ANC was mandated to prioritise the EFF and was ready to collaborate with them, the EFF’s antagonistic demands and refusal to adhere to standard negotiation processes steered the ANC toward its eventual multi-party GNU.