EFF leader Julius Malema said they want their candidates to have qualifications. Picture: Khaya Ngwenya / Independent Newspapers
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema wants party candidates who are going to Parliament to have qualifications.
Malema said former party MPs who have been selected to stand in the elections again will have to write a report on what they did during their time in the national legislature.
He said people will not be nominated because they are good with slogans, they want candidates with qualifications who will make a serious contribution in Parliament.
The EFF was hosting its list conference in Durban, which started on Sunday and ended on Monday.
The party said in a statement on Monday that on its list to go to Parliament, 40% of their candidates must be the youth and 50% must be women.
Candidates must hold a matric certificate and post-matric qualifications.
In his address, Malema said they wanted candidates with various skills, including energy, water and sanitation, technology, local economic development, health, justice and other skills.
Malema also said at least 10 of them must have PhDs.
The candidates must indicate what they will offer in Parliament when they are deployed by the EFF.
“When we move forward, we must raise the bar. Deputy president (Floyd Shivambu), in the top 50 of people who are going to Parliament, there must be 10 of them with PhDs. In our list 10 of them with PhDs and we have got them. They are there,” said Malema.
He also said they did not want to elect leaders based on the fact that they were good with slogans.
They want candidates who want to study and get more qualifications.
“You must have some skills. Those of you who were in Parliament now, you have to write a report on why you must go back to Parliament. What have you done, we are not doing any interview, we are not going to conduct any interview. Nothing. You are going to write down what have you done when you were in Parliament.
“The transcript is there. You can go back to Parliament and check and tell us in the committee meetings how many times did you make an input and which one is outstanding. We are not sending back to Parliament (the) mediocre that does not attend committees and Parliament, that does not speak in Parliament and that does not do oversight. What have you done? There must be an explanation. You must motivate why you must go back,” said Malema.
The party said it will now hold provincial manifesto rallies after the national launch in Durban over the weekend.
The EFF also said its list of candidates to Parliament must reflect the demographics of South Africa.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics