WATCH: Malema tells DA to bring it on – ‘We are not the kingmakers, we are the king’

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has thrown down the gauntlet to political parties and the Democratic Alliance (DA) ahead of the 2024 national elections.

Malema briefed the media on Sunday on the outcomes of the meeting of the EFF‘s central command team’s (CCT) on Friday and Saturday.

Malema said the red berets are gearing up for next year’s elections and will launch its manifesto in February, followed by an “aggressive and intense campaign” based on person-to-person campaigning to speak to people directly.

WATCH: EFF leader Julius Malema accepts ‘war invitation’

‘Invitation to war’

DA leader John Steenhuisen, who was re-elected as the party’s federal leader in April, officially “declared war” on the EFF in next year’s national elections.

According to Steenhuisen, during the remaining months before next year’s election, the DA would make sure it’s number one priority was to prevent an “ANC-EFF Doomsday Coalition” from taking power.

Malema said the red berets will meet the DA on the “battle field”.

ALSO READ: Steenhuisen declares war: DA’s number one priority to stop ANC-EFF doomsday

He said the invitation to war has been accepted

“We have never declared war against anyone. We were doing politics and saw everybody as a political opponent rather than an enemy. But it seems we are an enemy now. Let’s go to the battle field.

“2024 will separate the boys from the men, girls from the women…because the DA thinks it can defeat the EFF. The white capitalist invited you, the ground forces of the EFF…it’s up to you to decide if you want to be defeated or not,” Malema said.

‘No’ to DA government

“Let’s defeat the DA and lets defeat the handlers of the DA. We must make sure that whatever happens, the numbers of the ANC and the EFF combined go beyond 55% so that this DA can never constitutes government without the EFF and the ANC can never constitute government without the EFF.

Malema said the DA must never constitute government.

“Someone said, we are the kingmakers. We are not the kingmakers, we are the king,” the EFF leader said.

ALSO READ: ‘He wants to be finance minister’: Malema says Reserve Bank governor is protecting Ramaphosa