The EFF will receive 65% of the votes when the results of the local government elections are announced.

This is according to the party’s leader Julius Malema, who said he was confident in the work put in by the party during its campaign across the country.

Malema, who spoke after casting his vote at Mponegele Primary School in Limpopo on Monday, said victory was imminent for the party and that the youth vote could be decisive when all the ballots are counted.

“We are going to get 65% in Polokwane and the whole of SA. We are aiming for a decisive victory and we have done everything humanly possible and have been to all corners of SA,” said Malema.

“We are happy that our people have received the message because the EFF leadership was on the ground, so were the ground forces of the EFF. We can only hope for the best.”

Malema said this year the EFF was looking forward to a better outcome, adding that the party “covered the ground that was not covered in 2014, 2016 and 2019".

“We have managed to cover the ground that was not covered in 2014, 2016 and 2019, and that’s what give us confidence.

“At some point, we thought there was political apathy among the youth but the rallies of the EFF have changed that perception of voter apathy among young people,” he said.

Early results released by the Independent Electorate Commission (IEC) from the first 17 voting districts to complete their vote counts showed the ANC secured an early lead in the race for votes in the Eastern Cape.

The results were released just a few hours after the polls closed at 9pm on Monday, showing that the ANC had 174 votes. The Freedom Front Plus secured 23 votes, followed by the EFF with 20 and the DA by with 19. 

In September, Ipsos election poll findings predicted that the EFF, Action SA and other smaller parties would see an increase in the number of votes they receive.

Ipsos undertook a computer-assisted telephone interviewing study from August 16 to August 20, interviewing 1,501 randomly selected adults in the country.

Participants were asked which party they would vote for in the local government elections, with 49% choosing the ANC, 17.9% the DA and 14.5% the EFF.

“Countrywide almost half (49.3%) will draw a cross next to the name of the ANC, while support for both the DA (17.9%) and the EFF (14.5%) respectively, is also in double figures. SA has a plethora of registered political parties, but very few currently garner more than one percent of support,” said Ipsos.