This is the most dangerous year for the EFF. Its handling of the land issue will decide whether it increases its 6% of national vote to 14% or negotiates its way back into the ANC to replace the South African Communist Party. Since the 2014 elections, its detractors have been writing the party’s obituary. When the former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema began gunning for Jacob Zuma in and outside Parliament, some EFF supporters questioned the wisdom of this being a sustainable campaign issue. The EFF scored victories beyond its 6%. Zuma was found to be a constitutional delinquent, a label he’ll never recover from. Having tried for years to avoid paying back the money, he was forced to pay R7m for undue benefit for nonsecurity upgrades at his Nkandla private home, and he may yet have to pay benefits tax. The EFF made Zuma’s appearances in Parliament — to deliver the state of the nation address and answer parliamentary questions — a nightmare. Together with other opposition parti...

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