While it remains to be seen whether the ANC will fill the Moses Mabhida Stadium during its election manifesto launch on 24 February.
The EFF made a fair showing at the same venue on Saturday despite not filling the 56 000 seater.
The two parties have been engaged in a pre-election battle to fill to capacity the multi-purpose stadium ahead of this year's national and provincial polls.
The EFF raised eyebrows when they filled to capacity the FNB stadium, which has more than 90 000 seats during the party’s 10th anniversary on July 29 last year but made a poorer showing on Saturday.
The EFF’s choice of Moses Mabhida is believed to be a strategy by Malema to try and contest KwaZulu-Natal which is under the control of the ANC.
The ANC did the same, filling up the more than 43 000 seater, while hosting its 112th anniversary celebrations at Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga in January.
The governing party are gearing up to fill the Durban stadium during their own “Mayihlome! People’s Manifesto” launch on February 24.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the launch would commence with a commemoration rally, where secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula will start with a wreath laying ceremony to honour the founding father of to the ANC, John Langalibalele Dube.
EFF president Julius Malema delivered a 248-page manifesto document titled “Our Land & Jobs Now. Stop Load-Shedding” again promising to create jobs if he is voted into power.
Malema is a former ANC youth leader who was expelled from the party which paved the way for him to launch the EFF 10 years ago, which has given the ANC a headache.
The EFF is the third-largest political party, after the ANC and DA, and has once again promised to turnaround the country’s economy.
"This is not a manifesto of promises, it's a manifesto of commitments," he said.
Malema’s manifesto took a bold step of promising that Parliament would have the final say on the appointments of Chapter 9 institutions, state enterprises, the governor and commissioner of the South African Reserve Bank and the inspector-general.
“The EFF government will change the constitutional structure, including the abolition of the provincial sphere of government, accompanied by a mass restructuring, and strengthening of local government spheres into a unitary state.
“The EFF government will amend the Constitution to change the National Prosecution Authority to be a Chapter 9 institution,” it said. This means it will be independent, and subject only to the constitution and the law,” he said.
Malema added that his party would call for the restructuring of the State Security Agency by separating its domestic and foreign intelligence operations.
“This restructuring will aim to enhance operational effectiveness, reduce the potential for political manipulation, and ensure that the agency better serves the interests of all South Africans, in line with the EFF’s goals for efficient governance.”
More parties are expected to launch their manifestos in the next coming weeks despite the date of the elections not having been announced yet.
The Star