ANC Gives SACP Members 10 Days to Choose Sides Before Elections

The African National Congress has told its members who also hold SACP membership to declare within 10 days which party they will campaign for in the 2026 local government elections. The South African Communist Party rejected the demand outright.

Why it matters

The 103-year-old tripartite alliance between the ANC, SACP and Cosatu has been the foundation of South African liberation politics. A formal electoral split would reshape the political landscape in hundreds of wards and test whether the SACP can win votes on its own.

The ANC’s position

Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula announced the directive on 23 April, saying dual membership would remain but dual campaigning would not. “No members will contest for both the ANC and the SACP,” Mbalula said. He framed the directive as providing clarity for voters, not punishing communists.

The ANC’s concern is practical. In wards where both parties field candidates, the SACP would split the ANC’s left-leaning base, potentially handing seats to the DA, MK Party or ActionSA.

The SACP’s position

General Secretary Solly Mapaila called the ultimatum an “intimidation tirade” designed to isolate and censure communists within the ANC. He instructed SACP members not to comply individually and said the party would intensify its independent electoral programme.

The SACP formally resolved in December 2024 to contest elections independently, a decision driven by the ANC’s entry into a Government of National Unity with right-wing parties after losing its parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections. Mapaila has argued that the GNU represents a rightward shift that betrays the alliance’s founding principles.

The numbers at stake

According to BusinessDay, the SACP estimates it has between 300,000 and 350,000 members, many of whom also hold ANC membership. How many would follow the SACP into an independent campaign remains unknown. The party has never tested its electoral strength alone.

What happens next

The 10-day deadline expires in early May. If the SACP holds firm and members defy the ANC directive, the alliance faces either a negotiated compromise or an open rupture that would play out across every province. South Africa’s local government elections are scheduled between 2 November 2026 and the end of January 2027.