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SACP General-Secretary Solly Mapaila speaking at an event.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has confirmed it will contest the 2026 local government elections independently, following failed engagements with the African National Congress (ANC).
The party briefed the media on Thursday in Braamfontein, accusing the ANC of issuing ultimatums to its members and taking what it calls an anti-communist stance.
Marking a sharp escalation in tensions within the Tripartite Alliance, the SACP has framed the dispute as a broader political and ideological struggle.
“Our independent contestation is also not a retreat from the struggle for alliance configuration. It is part of that struggle. It is not a retreat from the national democratic revolution itself. It is a struggle over its class direction, its organisational content and its future,” says SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila.
VIDEO | Mapaila says the SACP has never regarded the ANC as an enemy:
