ABAHLALI baseMjondolo (AbM), a shack dwellers' movement, has joined forces with the EFF in the upcoming general elections on 29 May.
The movement made the announcement on Sunday, 21 April, at its rally called “Unfreedom Day”, in Durban, KZN.
AbM leader S’bu Zikode said while its politics has always been grounded in building popular democratic power from below and working towards building a national movement of communes and a global movement of movements, they have, since 2006, made different kinds of tactical interventions in elections while remaining autonomous from all political parties.
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Zikode said the new uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party is an offshoot of the ANC in with some of its worst people and tendencies are present and that it has taken some dangerously right-wing positions.
“We're a socialist organisation committed to building socialism from below via the construction of popular democratic principles. However, there's no left party on the ballot, so we can't vote for the programme of any party or with any confidence in its allegiance to the people and to progressive principles,” he said.
Zikode added that given the seriousness of the crisis of repression, a crisis that poses an existential threat to their movement, abstentionism is not a viable strategy and it's therefore necessary for them to make a purely tactical vote against the ANC and the MK party.
“No tactical considerations can enable a vote for the DA as it opposes land occupation, puts the commercial value of the land before its social value and refuses to condemn the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Zikode said as AbM, they have decided that in the 2024 general election they will support the EFF on condition that, it commits to deliver to the people’s demands as agreed at Abahlali’s General Assembly.
“To be clear, Abahlali is not joining the EFF or offering it uncritical support. This is a tactical vote,” he said.
In a statement, the EFF in KZN welcomed Abahlali's decision.
