Pretoria – Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has said that the party can no longer guarantee that it will vote with the Democratic Alliance.

Malema’s comments came after EFF’s boycott of municipal council meetings in DA-led metros which was sparked by the removal of Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Mongameli Bobani of the United Democratic Movement through a motion of no confidence supported by the DA.

Malema, who was speaking at the University of South Africa in Pretoria after receiving his BA Honours degree in philosophy on Wednesday evening, said there were no cracks between the EFF and the DA because they had never been in a coalition.

READ: EFF warns DA not to take other opposition parties for granted

“We are not in a coalition with the DA, we have never been in a coalition with the DA,” said Malema.

“We are in a coalition with our people. If you respect our people, you will get our votes. You ill-treat our people, you disrespect them, you look down on them because you think you are a super political party, we will teach you a lesson.

“We don’t care about these metros; whether the ANC takes them, whether the DA takes them, it’s none of our business.

“We will from time to time vote based on issues on the table [but] our vote for the DA is no longer guaranteed.”

Malema added that if the ANC put a solid proposal on the table, the EFF would vote for it.

DA calls for dialogue

Last week, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the issues between the DA, the EFF and the UDM were not insurmountable and likened the coalitions to marriage.

“Coalitions are like a marriage, you have a disagreement on one issue and that is the end of the marriage; it can’t be, you must engage. That is why we are open for dialogue, that’s why we are calling for dialogue,” said Maimane.

“I think we will continue to work, this is not an insurmountable issue, we will continue to work; we will continue delivering to the people.”

READ: DA, EFF failing to capitalise on ANC losses

Malema, however, said: “Stop talking about a divorce because there has never been a marriage.”

The DA said Bobani was removed because he was openly voting with the ANC and there were allegations that there was corruption under his leadership.

The UDM has taken the party to court to force the DA to produce evidence of Bobani’s alleged corruption.