Malema’s EFF Among the Top 5 Most Popular Political Parties in SA


By Staff Writer    10-Sep-2013 16:11 UTC+02:00 90

The number of fans or followers a brand has on social networks is usually a good indicator of its popularity in society. Generally, the more popular a brand is, the higher the number of followers it has on Facebook and/or Twitter. In an attempt to foresee the results of next year’s general elections, we conducted research on the popularity of South African political parties on the two major social networks, Facebook and Twitter.

South Africa currently has 14 political parties that are represented in parliament and over 60 that have no seats in parliament. Among the parties that are unrepresented in parliament, Agang SA and Economic Freedom Fighters are the most popular. Our findings, although not statistically robust, indicate that Julius Malema’s EFF is South Africa’s fastest growing political party. Although it is the newest party, it is already among the top 5 most popular parties.

Malema announced his intention to start EFF in June, just three months ago. This was four months after the launch of Dr Mamphela Ramphele’s Agang SA. However, the popularity of EFF on Facebook has grown significantly and considerably surpassed that of Agang SA. Actually, EFF now has the highest number of followers (46 269) on Facebook than all other political parties of South Africa, as shown in Table 1. The number of EFF followers on Facebook is twenty four times that of COPE (Congress of the People) and 117 times that of IFP followers.

Table 1. Popularity of SA Political Parties on Social Networks (09 Sept 2013)
PartyFacebook LikesTwitter Followers
ANC26 37670 625
EFF46 26923 578
DA30 87835 468
Agang SA25 29632 827
COPE1 892818
IFP394146

If the number of votes next year were to be proportionate to the number of Facebook likes, the top six parties would be EFF, DA, ANC, Agang SA, COPE and IFP. However, Facebook alone cannot be used to accurately predict the outcome of next year’s elections. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration in order to make accurate predictions.

On Twitter, EFF is the fourth most popular party, with more than 23 000 followers. The ANC is at the top, with over 70 000 followers. Behind the ANC are the DA and Agang SA, who have 35 468 and 32 827 followers respectively. However, considering the fact that Twitter has fewer users than Facebook, and that EFF’s Twitter page was founded recently (June 2013), it can be deduced that EFF is the fastest growing political party on Twitter. In the very near future, it will probably have more followers than the other parties, just like on Facebook.

They say numbers don’t lie. If that is true, then EFF is likely to book itself several seats in Parliament next year. If the popularity of COPE and IFP is so low, EFF and Agang SA have the potential to surpass them and become part of the big four political parties of South Africa. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that the number of Facebook likes and Twitter followers will translate into votes. Therefore, it still remains to be seen which parties will dominate the elections next year.



 90 Comments


  1. Nala says:

    Viva EFF viva!

  2. Ben says:

    Interesting. I never thought people would take EFF seriously. Clearly I was wrong.

  3. David Edwards says:

    The ANC must be worried…very worried indeed

    • Scebberish Umfazi says:

      80 % of voters wouldnt know how to even turn a PC on, never mind facebook or twitter.

      • Morema says:

        how can you know joining facebook without knowing to turn PC?
        realy you lost, i dont get your point at all here. i dont know if voting and turning PC goes together here.

        • Scebberish Umfazi says:

          I am not sure you English goes too well either………….so let me give you a clue. Go ask your Grandmother on the farm if she is on Facebook and while you at it ask her if she can turn your stolen laptop and stolen I-phone on for you.

          • Morema says:

            hey shameless puppet, am not a white man, so dont expect A+ english from me, ok. your mind is truly colonised and since you dont know what the hell you talking about, shut your stupid smelling mouth up.

  4. gopalkrishna42 says:

    WHAT A JOKE ?

  5. Gary Gordon says:

    Intelligent enough to use a computer but still so stupid.

    • Dr Of_CommonSense_.a.k.a_mChad says:

      u are very clever and wise, do u know that? They say aging gives wisdom and experience, unfortunately that’s not for every one.

  6. mav says:

    How did this ou get his party off the ground, when so many others have tried and have been declined by the ones who grant them? They have granted a criminal to have his own political party, and declined others who have no record whatsoever. There is some fckr on the board there that malema has, and if they were to check deeper, they would find out it was thru corruption that this idiot actually got his party registered, thru those idiots who are in charge of these things.

    • Clever says:

      EFF is not “his own political party”. He may have founded it but it doesn’t belong to him.

      • mav says:

        lol, point taken, but u know its the same difference, the fact is that if he had founded it, applied for and had gotten the go ahead from the guys who authorise this, the party does belong to him, he then would be the founder, owner, the big ba ass etc lol

        • Keith Roberts says:

          A difference that makes no difference is no difference. Heaven help South Africa, we have here a political party that will pander to the demands of the unthinking majority and may well become the new government; then you’ll wish you still had the anc as government. But it will not be for long, we’ll all be on the streets begging for a crust of bread.

          • mav says:

            No bro, there are other parties out there for people to vote for, I personally do not think for a moment that the eff will even come close to winning, if as the other person has stated that the youngsters are going to vote now, dont u think that they can see what is happening to this country and has a gist of the politicians who would come into power happen they vote for them?

      • Morema says:

        because you believe as good things done by white people only, you are completely colonised hey.

        • mav says:

          well so far all the blacks did was fck this country up, and its people like u, the corrupted ones that benefit from it

          • Morema says:

            lol. go with your losing DA, jou bloody loser

          • mav says:

            is that the best u can do? lol well i was mistaken, thought u had sht for brains, but if u had that u wud have given me something better, u got nothing in that head of yours, not even sh*t lol 😉

    • Scebberish Umfazi says:

      You seem surprised they have granted a criminal to have his own political party? They granted a criminal the Presidency so in truth no surprises here. Dont be too surprised if EFF is a smokescreen for the ANC to start a new type of Youth league and use it to push nationalization by suckering people into thinking they are voting against their older generation.

    • Morema says:

      you are mentally raped sir, since you dont know what you talking about, just shut your mouth up and enjoy your coke straw.

      • mav says:

        shut the fck up and go back to tending ur cattle for u have sh*t for brains, u come and build zozos all over here and stink the place up, dumb fck, asses like u belong underground, not where civilized people are

        • Morema says:

          boooooo!!!!!

        • monalisa15 says:

          You shut up. You are probably some white dude who should not even be in Africa in the first place. Mind your business or go back to Europe. SA is a black country.

          • mav says:

            lol shit for brains, wer the fck did u come from, get back to borders wer u come from, note from the time of ur comment u not from here, and ur a racist pig as well, i aint white, but from this country, yes unlike u, get the fck outta here to wer u come from, ur the ones who are giving our blacks a bad name by ur crime and corruption, ur country in afica is all black, thats why u came here for a better life cos every race in south africa contributed to make it a better place, be it thru manual labour to ownership

          • monalisa15 says:

            If you are black than you are nothing but a sell out to black people. The white people in SA do not give a damn about your black self. They are only 9% of the population but they own SA. Blacks will never have anything until blacks take back what is theirs and kick whites out of SA. Thank God for Mugabe who had the guts to tell whites where they can go. Zimbabweans own their own land and country while SA still kissing up to the white man. Blacks like you deserve what you get. You are a idiot.

          • mav says:

            lol shows what intelligence uve got, which amounts to zero, its because of blacks like u that fckd this country up, same as ur’ll did in zims, u noticed how high the zim dollar is, whats it worth? why, a 1000 zim dollars would not be enough to buy toilet paper to wipe ur ass with, and uve got shit for brains so im guessing its not enough to blow ur nose with either

          • Melody of Scream says:

            Monalisa15 SA is not a black country, this country is much bigger than just one race. Myself I was born in South Africa, as was my parent and their parents. We are all South Africans, our forefathers fought in the wars. We fought for this country. I could tell you to go back where you came from, since the San is the only indigenous people in SA, but I don’t do that since we are all born in South Africa end hence from there.

          • monalisa15 says:

            The only reason why you are in SA because your evil ancestors stole SA from the blacks. You are not a African. So stop dreaming. Its time to take your white self back to Europe. Don’t you see what’s going on in Africa. The majority of blacks want you people out.

          • Scebberish Umfazi says:

            I agree, so here is the deal, soon as the last black returns to Africa where he belongs and leaves Europe, the americas and Asia, we will leave Africa. After all by your reasoning Blacks have no right to leave Africa

          • Scebberish Umfazi says:

            True, The Black Plague is upon us all!!

  7. haveitoldulately says:

    South Africa needs socialism (social democracy) if it is to survive with the dignity of all its citizens intact. in the absence of an active socialist party, the EFF fills the gap rather nicely and will garner an increasing number of votes. no surprise. ANC and DA are one and the same – wolves in sheep’s clothing – while Agang SA is likely to join a coalition with the DA, in which case what’s the point? (Agang will need to do a lot more work to convince me that it can stand alone amongst the wolves.) Until then, the EFF is an attractive option for those of us who believe that a fresh – and significant in number – opposition with socialist leanings is desperately needed to challenge the wolves’ purely capitalist driven policies. Malema et al just might surprise us all. Odds are good that they’ll soon be giving the bods in Parliament a run for their money and I personally can’t wait.

  8. Linda says:

    This is exciting. I can’t wait for the elections. For a long time the ANC has had no competition and started to feel too comfortable. I’m glad to see EFF, DA and Agang SA gaining more popularity. They will keep the ANC on its toes.

  9. Dr Of_CommonSense_.a.k.a_mChad says:

    EFF is her to Stay Indeed, watch out. Party of the People by the people for the People. Real Socialism movement, not evil greedy capitalist that feed their own interrest to the disadvantage of others.
    Change is really coming to South Africa. FREE AT LAST.

  10. Dr Of_CommonSense_.a.k.a_mChad says:

    EFF is her to Stay Indeed, watch out. Party of the People by the people for the People. Real Socialism movement, not evil greedy capitalist that feed their own interrest to the disadvantage of others.Change is really coming to South Africa. FREE AT LAST.

  11. Morema says:

    wow…the moment ive been waiting for, which means Jesus will come back next year, as emphasized long ago.

  12. Anonymous says:

    I stay here at zone 14 garankwua we don’t have lights roads and water please help

  13. T-man says:

    to prove the popularity or relevance of the guy, mention his name and wait for the response, both negative and positive, and mostly people fail to understand the young leader and truth is if it is his destiny even you cannot stop the young leader he was born for it, so get on the program me or suffer in fear and discrimination.

  14. Pamela says:

    EFF is here feel it!

  15. I'm eff member no need for interpretation says:

    Amandla

  16. lucas mokolo says:

    like it or not now is the time;the time is now.EFF is here to rule

  17. john says:

    I’m already a member now

  18. Anonymous says:

    Eff is a joke

  19. Morgan says:

    EFF just has fast growning likes on Facebook not because the nation actually are supporting it but just for the mere fact of amusement… I doubt all those likes will ever turn into actual votes…. I’m proud 2 make example of myself, first time a friend invited me 2 like that page it was a month ago nd yes it’s content surprised me and I was amused well I did like it but liking it most definitely doesn’t mean I support it, my vote most definitely wouldn’t go to them… EFF is a bunch of youths excited by a selfish fat man who can’t take the economy seriously, he doesn’t deserve to be called an Economic Freedom Fighter at all!!

  20. Anonymous says:

    Lucas.there is no such like it or not.man. this is south africa not zimbaba its dimocrasyn.I don’t think they will vot for eff b/c it does not reprsent all south africans .it for malam and for those who want benafit from the sitwation if he is in power.that’s why he nver win.but if it hapens south africa will be second zimbabwa .and malam will be mugaba number two.the first african dictator in this century.every one know he got a hanger for power.he will won’t be a precident for ever ah ah ah its crezy .eff is a joke. What about the hambel anc leding the country with out any aprtied.

  21. anonymous says:

    EFF is here 2 stay & many people will be surprised by the overwhelming support that EFF will bw getting nxt yr general election.

  22. Anita.matsie says:

    Qhusaaaaaa EFF siyabangena wena..

  23. Zuckerberg David says:

    Just checked monday 16 September 2013 and the Facebook likes are as follows:
    EFF 39344
    Agang 25555
    ANC 51496
    DA 31389
    Looking at these figures and at the age of EFF it is very possible EFF could be South Africa’s second largest party. They are also figures that mainly represent youth in South Africa. Youth unemployment is very high in SA, so it figures.

  24. liod kgopong says:

    People should learn to know that Moshe in the bible did not reach the promised land God chose three man to lead people to the promised land one leader made it to the land of peace .I for one believe the African ancestor are happy now that their land will be in their people EFF is the party that is taking US to the promised land. What a brave man we have , God said to mama I send you to hard people don, t be afraid of them because is the people who hate the truth but love lies so go to them and I will be with . It was for good cause what ancestor did. Amen

  25. liod kgopong says:

    Please help me where can I get forms to register as a full member of EFF or are they on the net. Please.

  26. n/n says:

    eff stand

    efort for fools.

  27. Anonymous says:

    eff u will never roll never ever.u jst banch of boys and girls and ur generally scrtry kunene a be cumin porn starn

  28. Lucas says:

    Malema is a hero i am behind him with fullforce i will throw my vote over eff next year general election. It will be my second vote since the black empowerment.

  29. phillip says:

    EFF is the only party that will take us to promise land,zuma spend byR2.6 millions alone this shows us that if w keep on voting zuma our taxes will be stolen again VIVA EFF VIVA,those who criticise us are foolish

  30. Bless says:

    why are we as young south Africans still loyal to an ANC that is corrupt, I’m saying an ANC that is corrupt, because what is our president doing to people like john block in the northern cape province who is above the law. Its like we are staying in a marriage that is not working, we are unhappy as youth but we are supporting people who hurt us the most

  31. Bless says:

    why is malema’s finances only scrutinized when he was expelled form the ruling party, that means there are people within the ruling party who are benefiting from irregular taxes and money laundering until they cross paths with each other, then they will be exposed

  32. sipho says:

    up with JUJU, down with Zuma.
    EFF my vote is yours,AMANDLA!!!!!!!!!!!

  33. Dihlokwa penelope Manamela says:

    We want 2 support Eff n we don’t have memberships forms @ mmotong sporkpark. ViVA EFF VIVA we are not going 2 take u down

  34. Phankga Tsima says:

    Viva eff!! I just few counting months now,MR MALEMA OUR FUTURE PRESIDENT.

  35. kganya hlagane says:

    I Am An economıc freedom fıghter Sello julıus Malema Lımpopo ıs wıth u day and nyt my presıdent my commander ın chıef presıdent julıus malema for Change

  36. Aubrey Makgae says:

    I dnt support any party but Mr Malema n EFF r taking over numbers dont lie

  37. khonzani mthembu says:

    Parties and sociaties have come and gone eff will follow, umbutho wabantu bonke anc will always remain here viva anc viva siyabangena 2014 youth of sa should vote for anc,foward with anc ntt,and down with monster leadership

  38. kganya hlagane says:

    Long Lıve Econoc freedom fıghter long lıve the spırıt of change the people’s choıce

  39. kganya hlagane says:

    100% Economıc freedom fıghter’s full member’s an need not only a member but to also work for the party as my Job long lıve eff long lıve

  40. andre says:

    The party for the future

  41. Lesley chuene says:

    zuma has killed Anc…it is now called zuma or zulu african national congress….its better to vote EFF….VIVA Malema…..

  42. Kgagara mphulo says:

    Viva eff from sosha we will do for juju

  43. Tshepo kgasane says:

    Eff will suprise many people neXT yr

  44. aro charles says:

    Also consider that probably most of his supporters are from the poorest in the society whom may not have access to twitter and/or Facebook!

  45. Mandla Gershom Motha says:

    2014 is another year of change, eff will surprise many. Viva comrade juju!!!

  46. lourens says:

    Remember if you vote for a party you agree 100% with their policy. You can’t vote 80% or 75% for a party. Thus make sure you know their policy in detail. It might come back and bite you in the behind.

  47. Comrade BOTSHELO says:

    Anc is nw znc stand 4 zulu national congress who dey benefit,zuma killd anc morality enough is enough.Viva Eff viva.

  48. MAfrikakazi says:

    We need a new challenge, EFF is the only party that makes sense to Blacks , if the would including Black conscousness for our sisters and brothers to practise self love and moral degeneration , the youth has lost the way and the media is not helping . I m gonna vote EFF

  49. former Anc member. Black African says:

    ANC is dead. they sold out our people to the white capitalists. the land belongs to the black child by birth. the honeymoon is over for the corrupt anc and their white friends. Viva EFF we are taking it back.

  50. Ndabezitha says:

    Revolutionary greetings… I would like to take this chance and partake of the conversation. Firstly, my deep condolences to the Mandela family and rip to tata Mandela, a true hero, and also to the others who contributed to the struggle.

    we must understand that the way in which our electoral system (when looking at the ANC) works is that, we are only able to vote for the party and then the party within itself decides by vote who will be president, so we are not afforded the chance of voting for our own president, and the result is that the elected president ends up looking out for the interests of the party and not the people because the president has his position because of the party.

    the ANC has done quiet a lot but at the same time service delivery and corruption have been at an all time high. why the ANC has managed to keep getting the vote of the majority is because, the ANC has given people social grants (something that has never happened when a white person was in power) and in the minds of such people, they believe they will lose their grants if a white comes to power. theze grants can also be looked at as being reparations (back payment for the suffering caused by those demon possesed whites who oppressed our people and those whites who were content with benefitting from it all).
    but that is in the past now, and if we all want to honour Madiba, we must forgive, as this also liberates us and our souls.

    the reality is that, while people still own the economy and black people are suffering, shaking a white person’s hand and hearing “you should be grateful because if it weren’t for whites, you’d be herding cattle and wouldn’t be able to speak English. ..”; but in all honesty, I speak such good english because of “if u want to know how your enemy thinks, learn their language”.

    truthfully speaking, all these politicians are wolves in sheeps clothing. they all come singing the same song, and don’t deliver. we also have a constitution that protects criminals.

    the eff is a real Threat. there are a lot of poor people who mind having socialism (often at the expense of the rich / mostly white). the threat is that their hunger is being used as a political weapon. the ideas of socialism sound good, but look at how Russia is now capitalist and how China is enslaving its own people for cheap labour, and China itself is not fully capitalist. capitalism is by no means a saint.

    the ANC is the ruling party, but is failing the country.

    as I was writing this, I was thinking of a solution but I couldn’t find one, but maybe we can try this crazy method of 1. having a president elected by the people; 2. help ourselves ny lifting each other, not only for political or racial gains, but so we benefit as a people, BECAUSE WE WILL ALL DIE AND LEAVE ALL THESE MATERIAL THINGS WE ARE FIGHTING FOR. 3. why not be the change you want to see? now, things are more accessible than before. let us stop this thing of stealing from others to gain for our own evil. 4. why not elect / follow leaders because of their ability to lead n not cos of race or any other thing like that. 5. I will go get some firearms training, because I live in jozi and these nyaope smoking bastards want to get rich at our expense and now you can’t trust cops cos they also criminals and we have a constitution that protects criminals.

  51. Malema fo president says:

    EFF all the way… No retreat, no surrender.

  52. steven matabane says:

    what is interesting is that whn they open their mouth they talk nonsense.how can u say eff is amickymouse?which house is in order here?viva eff viva

  53. UDM says:

    what about the UDM? Bantu Holomisa is a great leader, I mean the guy was told to leave the ANC because he was honest about the wrong things going on inside closed doors !

  54. Tumelo chauke says:

    Yeah i go with EFF…i wish they win so that we can stop suffering ey…here in limpopo no one cares about us…maybe malema will be on our side

  55. zsotuko says:

    tjaa gays kunzima kodwa, honest Holomisa wasibetha ngokumka kwakhe kwi ANC . La top six Kwi ANC .Akhobantu pha.kodwa mhasingabanjongi .sijonge and sikhusele igama le ANC.yona i leadership ye ANC Ifuna ulungiswa crac …..sisuka kude manene .viva ANC iyophatha dekubuye uJesu . uthanda undathandi

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