Julius Malema. Picture: SOWETAN
Julius Malema. Picture: SOWETAN

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ECONOMIC Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema on Tuesday refused to change the party’s television election campaign advertisement to suit the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) after the state broadcaster refused to flight it.

The EFF is the second party to bump heads with the SABC over the content of its election advertising campaign after the public broadcaster refused to broadcast a Democratic Alliance (DA) advertisement. The EFF says the SABC tried to defend the canning of the advertisement by saying it had the propensity to incite violence.

Leaders of the new party said at a briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday that the party would organise a march to the SABC’s headquarters next week to protest the canning of the advertisement.

The EFF’s television advertisement underscores, among others, the public outcry at the controversial electronic tolling system on Gauteng’s freeways, and the EFF pledges to "physically remove" e-toll gantries if elected into power.

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Mr Malema said the party launched an urgent application with the Independent Communications Authorities of SA (Icasa) against the SABC’s decision as it was "a clear violation of freedom of expression".

"The SABC has wrongly and illegally banned this advert because of the EFF’s decisive position shown in the advert that in an instance when it takes the government it will physically destroy the undemocratically imposed e-tolls on Gauteng motorists and commuters," Mr Malema said.

EFF national spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said the EFF lodged an urgent complaint with Icasa’s complaints and compliance committee on Tuesday morning and hoped for a hearing in 48 hours. EFF Gauteng premier candidate Dali Mpofu said the party’s leaders expected the matter to be heard in Bloemfontein.

Mr Malema said: "To suppress an ad on the basis of disagreeing with it, politically, is wrong. We are going to remove e-tolls physically. What about that incites violence? We are going to have a ceremony, a celebration of sorts, to remove e-tolls. If that is anarchy, then why not flight the advert and let the people make up their minds?"

The DA recently brought a complaint before the courts over its television campaign entitled "Ayisafani i-ANC (the ANC is not the same)". The legal matter between the SABC and the DA has been postponed and the advert was allowed to air on SABC last week. By the past weekend, the DA advertisement had been viewed nearly 500,000 times on video sharing website YouTube.