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ANC and SACP flags
Political analyst Mazwe Majola says the alliance between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party could be heading for a split.
This follows the SACP’s decision to independently participate in future elections, including the 2026 local government polls.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa told the party’s recent National General Council meeting that all SACP members sitting in their election strategy meetings should recuse themselves until their Alliance Summit next year resolves their differences.
Professor Majola believes that the summit will fail to resolve the issues.
“I don’t think that, really, in January, the talks that they will have will bear any fruit. It seems the SACP has already taken a decision now and is very serious about this decision. This will definitely be the beginning of the end of the alliance between the ANC and the SACP. I don’t know about Cosatu because Cosatu I suppose, it will be in the middle now in terms of who is supporting who and what is happening, but in as far as the SACP and the ANC, it’s definitely gonna be the beginning of the end of the alliance.”
The ANC and the SACP’s close relationship began with shared goals in the 1950s and intensified after both were banned.
Where does the squabble between the SACP and the ANC leave people like Dr. Phophi Ramathuba who is an ANC PEC member in Limpopo, an ANC deployee in government as well as SACP Deputy Chairperson in Limpopo? #ANCNGC2025 #SABCNEWS pic.twitter.com/8nq3w5fgzV
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) December 11, 2025
The current ANC-SACP leadership denies presiding over a possible split, as ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula explains.
“History will tell whether we are presiding over the end of the alliance. But from where we stand at the present moment, we don’t have a perspective that says we must walk away and collapse the tripartite alliance. So history will tell whether we did preside over it, and even when it answers that question, it will say what necessitated the collapse if it will happen but it will be answered correctly from a strategic point of view.”
