ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. (X)
The ANC has failed to persuade the South African Communist Party (SACP) to rethink its decision to contest the 2026 local government elections on its own, secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said on Monday.
This could see the ANC reconsider its stance on allowing dual membership of both parties, Mbalula told journalists on the sidelines of a special meeting of the ANC national executive committee (NEC).
“Obviously, the Communist Party has taken the decision, and we have failed to persuade them to review that decision. It is a decision of their organisation; they are an independent entity, and their position is that they are not walking away from the alliance — they are simply contesting the elections,” he said.
The NEC is meeting to finalise preparations to convene a national general council next week.
Last Monday, the parties held a bilateral meeting in an attempt by the ANC to convince the SACP to reconsider its stance on contesting the elections alone.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila first announced in December last year that the party’s national executive had decided to contest the 2026 local government elections independently.
The SACP felt that the ANC had “sold out” by working with the Democratic Alliance in a government of national unity, and was also unhappy that it had not been consulted prior to that decision.
The SACP has previously threatened to stand alone in elections but has backed down after securing concessions from the ANC. It however appears that the ANC’s decision to enter the national coalition government last year may have strengthened the SACP’s resolve this time around.
The ANC has previously said it would not remove SACP ministers and deputy ministers who serve in Cabinet under the ANC banner, but on Monday Mbalula said the question of dual membership may need to be reconsidered.
“Their decision is pregnant with a number of possibilities in terms of the alliance, and it brings up issues of dual membership in the communist party — because how do you contest against the ANC while also being part of the communist party? That is an issue we are going to discuss,” he told journalists.
“In the past, we did not have any problems with dual membership. Now, if you contest on your own, the issue of dual membership is definitely on the agenda. The SACP has informed the ANC that they will not retract their resolution to stand on their own and contest the elections. What we will be discussing are the implications of that decision for the ANC and the alliance.”
Mbalula added that the NEC would provide guidance on the SACP’s decision to contest the elections independently, saying the matter does not concern only the ANC but also affects its alliance partners, including labour federation Cosatu.
“This is not an ANC issue; it’s an alliance matter. We had hoped that, as we got to the [national general council], we would have had an alliance meeting, but it is impossible to have that meeting this week or before the end of the year. We will have to hold an alliance meeting next year in which all alliance components must reflect, as we are doing, on the SACP’s decision.”