Red Flag: South African Communist Party General Secretary Solly Mapaila. Photo: Luba Lesolle/Gall Images
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has said it will contest the next election as an independent party, but will not take any action against the ANC in the post-election stage.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila announced on Sunday that the party had decided to contest the 2026 local government elections, saying a decision would be finalized at a special national conference in Boksburg next week.
The decision could have serious implications for alliance partner the ANC, which has warned the SACP against such efforts.
SACP spokesperson Alex Mashilo said. email and guardian The party was not at war with the ANC this week.
“The ANC is our ally. We are not challenging the ANC. We are not opposed to the ANC. What we are doing here is this contested election. All we have to do is exercise the democratic rights that the SACP has as a political party to implement this,” Masilo said.
The SACP had previously threatened to stand alone in the election, but withdrew after securing concessions from the ANC, but this time it appears to have strengthened its resolve after the ANC decided to enter a government of national unity. is.
Mr Masilo said the policy on how the SACP would approach the 2026 local government elections would be finalized next week. He did not say whether the party would include a portrait of one of its leaders on the ballot.
“The question of what happens on the ballot paper, once I declare those things immediately, it becomes a personal matter and it is no longer an SACP matter. It was only in 2019 that the SACP went on the ballot. “Yes, that was the format, but as far as what happens in 2026, that format will be finalized by the special legislative session,” he said.
Some SACP leaders believe that the ANC shows more respect to the Democratic Alliance (DA) than to its alliance partners.
Affiliated unions such as the SACP, trade union federation Cosatu, South African Democratic Teachers Union, National Education and Health Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union all say the ANC failed to consult them when making decisions. It is criticized as such. Establish a unified government with the DA.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told reporters on Monday that the SACP's decision to contest the election had serious implications for the alliance. He said the ANC respects the SACP as an independent institution, but cautioned against the SACP contesting elections alone, adding that the two parties would discuss the decision further.
“We have entered into a bilateral agreement with the SACP. They have raised the issue of working alone. We have agreed to continue to work on this issue, including how that particular decision should be taken. . It is the Communist Party's decision whether to hold elections or not. They have to look into it themselves and make a decision.
“As for how it will affect the Alliance, it is a matter that we have agreed to discuss next year, but they have informed us that they have made a decision and are bringing it to Parliament. We will leave it at that and the ANC will then discuss with them how the decision will affect its implementation.”
Mr Masilo told the M&G that the SACP will meet again with the ANC to discuss a number of issues ahead of the national executive committee meeting, and that the SACP will be working with Cosatu, the South African National Civil Organization, other progressive organizations and workers to He said he would continue to work with the organization. .
He said the SACP had decided at its 2022 national conference to contest the 2024 elections, but decided not to implement that decision due to the surge in political parties in the May 29 vote.
“If you look at the IEC, [Electoral Commission of South Africa] If you look at the quarterly returns, you'll see that white capitalists are putting a lot of money into these projects. “They were also foundations in Western Europe and America that were injecting money,” he claimed.
“Given the circumstances, the SACP has stated that it will seek to reconstitute the alliance and implement this decision in the 2026 municipal elections while assessing the 2024 results.”
