BLF looks to crowdfunding to contest 2019 elections

The party has launched a campaign calling on supporters to help them raise their deposit so they can take part in next year's elections.

Andile Mngxitama speaks outside the Randburg Magistrates’ Court. Photo: Sonwabile Antonie

Back First Land First (BLF) has released a statement announcing their intention to try and raise the R605,000 deposit needed to contest the election through crowdfunding.

According to the statement, the campaign will also raise money for “worthy social upliftment projects” including “upgrading a school” and “building a house for a deserving family”.

The party intends to use the money to ensure its presence on the ballot in 2019 and then, after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) refunds the money, use it to “uplift the needy”.

BLF president Andile Mngxitama will be launching the crowdfunding campaign on Monday morning at Sophunga Primary School in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal. It is being hosted by BackABuddy, and can be found here.

The IEC has confirmed that BLF has indeed registered to contest the 2019 elections.

But if the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has their way they never will – they have asked the IEC to review the party’s eligibility as a party given their “frequent violent threats to white people”.

The SAHRC believes the BLF’s “statements violate the Electoral Act”.

According to the BLF, slogans such as “by any means necessary”, “take back the land”, “land or death”, and “one settler, one bullet” are called out in the SAHRC complaint.

Mngxitama has called these “legitimate slogans” in response to what he calls “The Black Holocaust”.

In 2016, the party’s spokesperson Lindsay Maasdorp expressed a desire to kill white people on both Twitter and Facebook, saying: “I have aspirations to kill white people, and this must be achieved!”

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