SACP turns down ANC 2026 election plea

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has said that its decision to contest the 2026 local government elections must be respected.

This comes after meeting with its Tripartite Alliance partner, the African National Congress (ANC), at Luthuli House on 24 November.

Since South Africa’s first democratic national elections in 1994, the SACP has consistently supported and campaigned for ANC candidates, with many SACP members serving on ANC electoral lists and in government positions.

This alliance approach continued through subsequent national polls in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024.

However, this changed in December 2024, when SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila announced that the party would contest 2026 alone.

At the time, he had said the party’s decision to contest independently was because they felt neglected by the ANC.

Mapaila criticised the ANC as being “weak”, arguing that the “arrogance of political power” led to its decision. 

SACP’s Dr. Alex Mashilo said that the party “remains steadfast in its commitment to building working-class power and pursuing socialist transformation in South Africa.”

“Our decision to contest the 2026 local government elections is informed by our strategic objective of deepening democracy and shifting the balance of forces in favour of the working class,” Mashilo added.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 24 November 2025 meeting, SACP spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana, said the decision was taken by SACP members in a Congress, “and our members consider the decision to be a correct one.”

He added that they are working hard in preparation for the elections, and added that the SACP remains committed to the future of the Tripartite Alliance between it, the ANC and COSATU.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula stated that the SACP “has a right to contest elections alone, just like the ANC does,” while stressing the need for discussions on this “new dynamic” to maintain alliance unity.

In the joint statement, the ANC affirmed the meeting as “part of ongoing efforts to consolidate unity of purpose in advancing the National Democratic Revolution.”

ANC’s 2026 election worry

The ANC is under heavy pressure after the SACP’s decision to field its own candidates in the 2026 local elections, a move that deepens vulnerabilities already exposed by the ANC’s record-low 40.2% in the 2024 national vote.

That slump forced the party into a fragile Government of National Unity with ideological opponents, while splinters like Jacob Zuma’s MK Party severely undercut its support: especially in KwaZulu-Natal, where the ANC fell to 16.4%.

Ramaphosa has warned that an ANC–SACP split would signal a breakdown of the long-standing “twin” relationship of the National Democratic Revolution.

While the SACP is not a mass electoral force, the ANC fears it could peel away 5 to 10% in strongholds like Gauteng and the Western Cape, where union and cadre mobilisation is crucial.

Pre-meeting, Mbalula had described the SACP’s decision as a “monumental disaster” with “no ideological basis” for independent contestation, arguing it threatens liberation movement unity.

He vowed to “convince the SACP that we are an alliance and we should find each other,” reflecting ANC efforts to dissuade the move without outright rejection.

ANC leaders such as Gwede Mantashe, deputy president Paul Mashatile, and Fikile Mbalula have previously argued that running independently might further strain the alliance and weaken the broader leftist movement in the country.

Leeto Nthoba, political analyst and lecturer at the Central University of Technology, told the SABC that the break also creates ideological and organisational turmoil.

Dual ANC–SACP members, including senior ministers, would face conflicting loyalties under ANC rules that forbid supporting rival parties, potentially triggering recalls or defections.