The South African Communist Party (SACP) has dug in against pressure from the ANC, instructing its members not to bow to demands to choose between the two organisations ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila said the party would shield its members from what it described as “bullying tactics” by the ANC.
The remarks came as the ANC prepared to send letters to members holding dual membership after a national executive committee decision to enforce constitutional provisions barring members from joining or supporting another political party.
Mapaila said the SACP would intensify, not retreat from, its independent political and electoral programme.
“The answer to intimidation is not paralysis,” he said.
The ANC’s move echoes the clauses used to terminate the membership of former president Jacob Zuma after he established the MK Party.
Mapaila labelled the decision “regrettable” and a “serious anti-communist political move” that risks reshaping the character of the ANC and the alliance itself.
He argued the directive amounts to a one-sided reinterpretation of the historic alliance, reducing it to a relationship of subordination.
“It seeks to reduce a strategic relationship forged in struggle into a demand for permanent support without reciprocity,” Mapaila said.
The SACP formally resolved in December 2024 to contest elections independently, a significant break from its long-standing electoral alignment with the ANC within the tripartite alliance, alongside the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
Mapaila was unequivocal the party would proceed.
“Our decision to contest the 2026 local government elections under our own banner will be implemented without fear.”
He rejected the ANC’s stance as coercive, saying no genuine alliance could survive under ultimatums.
The party has instructed members to remain disciplined and avoid unilateral decisions under pressure, warning against resignations or public declarations made outside party structures.
“No comrade must submit to intimidation,” Mapaila said.
At the same time he struck a measured tone toward the ANC, saying the SACP would not respond with hostility and would respect members who choose to remain solely within the governing party.
The SACP has also directed its structures to provide support to members deployed in government who may be affected by the ANC’s directive, and to report any instances of intimidation or disciplinary threats.
Mapaila framed the dispute as a distraction from deeper systemic issues.
“The greatest threat is not that communists are contesting elections. The threat is the capture of the state and the erosion of working-class confidence.”
He warned that declining public trust, voter disengagement and failing local governance, not internal alliance tensions, pose the real risk to the national democratic project.
Party structures have been instructed to convene urgent meetings across provinces, districts and branches, while senior leaders will be deployed to manage the fallout.
Political education campaigns will also be intensified to explain the SACP’s electoral strategy and its vision for local government.
“The moment demands firmness, not hesitation,” Mapaila said.
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