SACP's 2026 local elections strategy: Addressing internal dissent and challenges

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has vowed to contest all provinces and all municipalities in the country during the 2026 local government election, highlighting that strategies and tactics will be developed along the way, based on the letter, intent, and spirit of the congress that declared a wall-to-wall resolution.

The party has been in disagreement with its alliance partner, the ANC, over the policy direction taken by the government, despite the ANC’s protest, among others. 

SACP National Spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana stated that the party is contesting the elections, not an individual organisation, nor the ANC.

He added that the SACP will fundraise for elections like all other parties and will follow the laws and regulations governing that process.

“The SACP expects all its members and its leaders to campaign for the SACP. However, the party will not engage in a witch-hunt against any member who campaigns differently, as dual membership is a pillar of the movement, and it will not punish members for assisting the ANC in line with their conscience.

“However, the party will make its own internal evaluation of its performance and the contribution of its members and leaders,” he said.

Asked whether the SACP is prepared to lead a new ‘Left Front’ that excludes the ANC entirely, Mondlana said the party will convene a conference of the left this year, and questions of this nature will be discussed.

He reiterated that the SACP contesting elections has nothing to do with the Government of National Unity (GNU) or the DA. 

“The decision was made in 2022, which was a long while before the GNU was established. The two have nothing to do with each other,” Mandlana said.

An SACP stalwart who was active in the 1990s and has led various structures, including the province of KwaZulu-Natal, stated that the resolution to contest the election is correct, but the implementation is wrong. 

The vanguard spoke on condition of anonymity, citing that some of these issues are being ventilated in court.

“In fact, this is where we tend to differ. We are saying, particularly in KZN, that the time and space in which the party has chosen to contest the election are inappropriate. It is wrong. They would have done that in 2015, when the party’s support was at its peak, and there was dissatisfaction with the ANC,” he stated.

He warned that there is a huge distance between the party and the masses, and that the distance will be realised when the SACP contests the local government elections.

The stalwart further stated that the SACP is in a state of revolutionary frivolity, as it has become the left wing based on its presentation rather than its actions.

“At the current moment, to be frank, the party is weaker than it was when it was unbanned. It is very weak and very isolated from the masses. It can be regarded as a communist club rather than a Communist Party,” he warned.

He added that in a club, a group forms a society without involving the masses, whereas the party should represent the interests of the masses, not its own.

There is a rise of right-wing forces, and the left is becoming weak. The time and space are not favourable for the left to be aggressive. Besides that, in South Africa, there is a high dissatisfaction with the establishment (ANC), and the SACP is associated with the ANC, he said.

“There is a massive anti-majoritarian liberal offensive. That is why we are seeing a proliferation of opposition parties. Those proliferations are not happening on their own; they are a part of this anti-majoritarian liberal offensive, where liberation forces need to be cut into pieces to allow for a forced coalition government. Now, that is the situation we are currently confronted with,” he stated.

The stalwart said, raising funds for an election campaign is dangerous for a socialist party in a capitalist democracy. 

He added that the SACP must first try to be self-sustainable, so that it can not take financial handouts from capitalists and expect to push socialism. 

“How can the capitalists fund you to challenge every system that made them wealthy? Elections are a tool for capitalists to rule. The SACP is not just contesting the election; it is challenging the system.” 

He highlighted that the ideal solution is for the SACP to patiently speak to the ANC to reconfigure the alliance so that it can withstand the changing political situation in SA, as it is time for liberation forces to unite, not to disintegrate.

“The SACP’s move is throwing the entire Tripartite Alliance into the wolves. The SACP right now needs the patience of a python,” he stated.

Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast, a political analyst from Nelson Mandela University, stated that this is the end of the Tripartite Alliance and the ANC will be the biggest loser.

“In my view, the ANC, even with the SACP, won’t lead to an upward electoral trajectory. This is because there is a connection between service delivery and voters now. The majority of eligible voters are younger people, who will not entertain the romanticism of the party, which is the contribution of the heroes and heroines of the ANC during the liberation Struggle,” Breakfast stated.

He highlighted that the Struggle heroes’ strategy previously worked, but in 2026, younger people are rational voters; they are graduates and unemployed, they want to see action, they want jobs, they want service delivery, etc.

He added that another aspect is that people might not show up at the polls because they are unhappy, stating that this is the point that the ANC does not want to acknowledge.

Breakfast said that the SACP might take away some votes, which will hurt the ANC, but to what extent they will take away that fraction of the working class is yet to be discovered. 

“In fact, they are just going to spoil the party for the ANC,” he stated.

A request for comment was sent to the ANC’s national spokesperson on Wednesday morning, but they had not responded by the time of publication. Their comments will be added once received.

gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za