Omanghana
South Africa’s long-standing liberation alliance is facing one of its most serious divisions after the South African Communist Party decided to contest the 2026 local government elections independently of the African National Congress.
The SACP, which has traditionally campaigned for the ANC rather than fielding candidates under its own name, has submitted candidate lists to the Electoral Commission of South Africa and plans to contest ward and proportional-representation seats nationwide.
The party says it has selected 4,418 ward candidates, including community activists and representatives from religious and traditional groups who are not necessarily SACP members.
The decision represents a significant departure from the electoral arrangement that has sustained the Tripartite Alliance of the ANC, SACP and Congress of South African Trade Unions for decades.
Despite the independent campaign, the SACP insists it has not withdrawn from the alliance. It says contesting the elections is intended to force changes to a political partnership it believes has become unequal and insufficiently responsive to working-class communities.
SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila has accused the ANC-led government of moving toward market-oriented economic policies, privatization and austerity while failing to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality.
The party has also criticized government reforms affecting electricity, transport, telecommunications and other network industries, arguing that they could weaken public ownership and create greater opportunities for private capital.
Its local election campaign will focus on employment, reliable water and electricity supplies, housing, safer communities, improved roads, accountable councilors and an end to corruption in municipal tender systems.
The ANC has argued that the SACP’s decision creates a conflict of interest for individuals who belong to both parties. Its National Executive Committee instructed dual members to declare which organization they intended to campaign for.
The directive affected several prominent political figures with memberships in both organizations. The SACP rejected the demand and instructed its members not to comply, describing it as an ultimatum that threatened the character of the historic alliance.
Mapaila argued that the SACP had supported ANC election campaigns for more than three decades without attempting to restrict the ANC’s political independence. He said an alliance could not survive if one partner expected permanent electoral support while refusing to recognise another partner’s right to contest elections.
The dispute comes at a difficult time for the ANC. The party lost its national parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections, forcing it to form a coalition government with the Democratic Alliance and several smaller parties.
Its support had already fallen below 50 per cent in the 2021 municipal elections, the first time that had happened nationally since the end of apartheid in 1994.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that poor municipal performance, corruption and unreliable services have damaged public confidence. He has urged ANC-controlled councils to improve water supplies, sanitation, refuse collection, electricity distribution and road maintenance ahead of the local elections, which must be held before November 2026.
The ANC’s participation in a coalition government with the market-oriented Democratic Alliance has further strained its relationship with the SACP. The two parties disagree over public ownership, private-sector involvement in infrastructure and the direction of economic reform.
The SACP’s independent campaign could divide parts of the ANC’s traditional working-class support base, particularly in municipalities where voters remain frustrated by unemployment and deteriorating services.
COSATU also faces internal debate over how organised labor should respond. While the trade union federation remains part of the Tripartite Alliance, some affiliates want it to preserve unity and avoid being drawn into an electoral confrontation between the ANC and SACP.
The split does not yet amount to the formal collapse of the alliance. The SACP maintains that it remains committed to cooperation with the ANC and COSATU but wants the partnership restructured around collective decision-making, accountability and an agreed program.
Its decision nevertheless marks a major turning point in South African politics. A movement that once approached elections through a largely unified liberation platform is becoming more fragmented as its constituent organizations compete over policy, political representation and control of the country’s future direction.
Source: Omanghana
