SACP members chased out of ANC election workshop

THE  South African Communist Party (SACP) has launched an attack on its tripartite alliance ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, accusing her of chasing the communist party’s members away during a recent elections workshop in Mpumalanga. 

During the workshop, aimed at strategising for the 2026 Local Government Elections,  Mokonyane issued a directive, asking SACP delegates to leave, citing that the party would not strategise with a group intending to contest elections independently.

The directive, according to sources,  also angered some SACP leaders, who accused Mokonyane of also breaking the longstanding relationship the party has had with the ANC and Cosatu.

 SACP national Spokesperson Mbulelo Ndlazana confirmed the incident, stating that the party's decision to contest the local government elections independently is not a reflection of the political relationship between the two organisations. 

“Certain members and leaders of the SACP were removed from an elections workshop in Mpumalanga. The SACP is aware of this action and has engaged the ANC about it,” Ndlazana said.

He further stated that the alliance was not an election, and therefore, electoral contests do not determine the fate of the political relationship between alliance partner organisations.

He blamed the ANC leadership in Mpumalanga for failing to address the matter before extending an invitation.

“The ANC local leadership committed an error by inviting the SACP into the workshop, given the fact that the SACP is contesting the elections independently. 

“The fact that the SACP is contesting the local government elections independently and in its name means its election strategy and plans are internal to it, and this is true of the ANC as well,” Ndlazana said.

The SACP has met all requirements to contest the elections, as confirmed by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The ANC has criticised the SACP's decision, arguing that it could split the Alliance vote and benefit opposition parties.

 ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula previously questioned the theoretical basis for the SACP's decision, stating that if the communist party wants more influence, it can be resolved through discussions on deployment lists.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has backed the SACP's decision to contest the 2026 local government elections independently. 

In its secretariat report at its elective conference in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, the NUM called for the mobilisation of the “popular front of the left” against the Government of National Unity (GNU).

SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila  said there was no turning back from forging ahead with their plans. 

“I cannot reverse this decision; no one in the Communist Party can reverse this decision. It's a decision taken by Congress,” Mapaila said.

Cape Times