SACP confirms it will contest 2026 LGE independently

The General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), Solly Mapaila, has reiterated the party’s decision to contest the local government elections (LGE) independently next year. Mapaila spoke during the party’s Augmented Provincial General Council at Polokwane in Limpopo.

Mapaila says the SACP also reaffirmed its position to strengthen its independence as a movement that is anti-capitalism.

“The SACP is going to contest the local government elections; there’s no turning back. I have no capacity to reverse this decision; no one in the Communist Party has the capacity to reverse this decision. It’s a decision taken by Congress. The best we did as the leaders trying to nurse the internal alliance relations was to delay the implementation. We would have implemented this decision by 2024 as per the decision but we went on a long engagement process with our allies, the ANC, COSATU and SANCO. Internally, also within the organisation, but the process didn’t yield appropriate results,” adds Mapaila.

Mapaila also paid tribute to the theologian and the late African National Congress (ANC) stalwart Dr Tshenuwani Farisani, who passed away earlier last week.

“We have also lost in this province one of our towering stalwarts, a great revolutionary reverend, Dr Farisani Tshenuwani, who was a leader of our movement and served as the district treasurer of our communist party despite his own major contribution to the liberation movement of our country, a humble servant of our people, so we are equally saddened that this weekend is a terrible week for us loving most of our moral stalwarts like Farisani.”

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