Carl Niehaus sitting pretty at number 27 on EFF’s parliament list

Former African National Congress (ANC) veteran and African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta) leader Carl Niehaus is among the top candidates on the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) list of people headed to the National Assembly after the national and provincial elections.

Niehaus joined the red berets in December last year after dumping his party, Areta, which he founded after he left the ANC.

Top candidates

The EFF’s candidate list, which has been made public shows Niehaus sitting pretty at number 27.

Niehaus, who is an ardent supporter of former president Jacob Zuma was booted from the ANC in December 2022, but he later resigned from the governing party despite his expulsion.

After Niehaus’ departure from the ANC for good, he established an organisation called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) Movement which, at the time, he stated was not a political party before joining the EFF.

ALSO READ: Social media reacts to Naledi Chirwa’s demotion to bottom of EFF list

Celebrities and others

Meanwhile, former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane also holds a top position on the EFF list sitting at number 40 and Nazier Paulsen at 37, while the party’s former chairperson, Dali Mpofu, who has been on the red berets list to parliament in 2014 and 2019, is at number 11.

However, in past elections, Mpofu stayed on as a senior counsel instead of joining the party in parliament.

Party leader Julius Malema is first on the list, with Ntombovuyo Veronica Nkuna second and deputy president Floyd Shivambu third.

EFF’s former treasure general Godrich Gardee, who resigned as an MP in 2020, sits at number seven on the list. However, it remains to be seen if Gardee, who is a practicing lawyer, will take up an MP role.

R&B singer Ringo Madlingozi, kwaito star Eugene Mthethwa and acclaimed actor Fana Mokoena have also all made it into the top 100 for the EFF’s national candidates list.

Other notable names on the list include EFF Student Command president Sihle Lonzi, who is at number 19.

Biggest loser

The biggest loser has been Naledi Chirwa, who has been demoted from 40 in the last national candidate list to 200. This means it is unlikely she will keep her seat in parliament.

Chirwa is also only 47 on the Gauteng candidate list.

Mzwanele Manyi is also likely to not make it as well sitting at 41 on the list with the EFF unlikely to get 40 seats after the elections on 29 May, according to a post by Constitution First on X.

ALSO READ: Niehaus vows to discard ‘ANC scumbags into garbage bin of history’