By Simon Nare
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has secured 2.38% of the national vote, translating into 271 municipal seats, in its first independent contest in local government elections after decades of supporting its alliance partner, the ANC.
The result places the party eighth nationally, ahead of better-funded parties such as Rise Mzansi and the Patriotic Alliance, and gives it representation in all nine provinces.
The SACP made its strongest showing in the Eastern Cape, where it finished third with 6.2% of the provincial vote, behind the ANC and the DA.
With coalition negotiations expected to resume this week across 127 hung municipalities, the party’s seats could prove important in several councils where no party secured an outright majority.
In the Eastern Cape, the SACP secured 89 seats, including five in the Buffalo City Metro, where the ANC lost its majority and may need support from its alliance partner to govern alongside other parties.
The ANC has publicly indicated its willingness to work with the SACP, while general secretary Solly Mapaila has also expressed openness to cooperation, cautioning that the party would not give the ANC a blank cheque.
In Limpopo, the SACP secured 45 seats, while in Mpumalanga it won 26, potentially giving the party a role in coalition negotiations in municipalities where the ANC fell short of a majority.
The party also secured 20 seats in the North West, where its support could influence negotiations in several hung councils. However, Mapaila has warned that the SACP would not automatically support the ANC.
The party’s Politburo was expected to meet on Monday to finalise a framework for coalition discussions, which are being facilitated by deputy general secretary Madala Masuku.
Speaking to journalists at the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa’s Results Operations Centre at the weekend, Mapaila credited the party’s grassroots mobilisation, community development initiatives and historical role in the liberation struggle for its electoral performance.
He said the results had not come as a surprise, adding that the party’s immediate priority was to develop a common political strategy focused on service delivery and direct budgeting for communities before considering possible cooperation with other parties.
Mapaila said the SACP’s participation in elections had been interrupted for 76 years following its banning in 1950 under the Suppression of Communism Act.
“Until now, we reconnected with that particular path. And of course, the biggest issue for us has been how our comrades have humbled themselves in communities, worked together with communities to find solutions of their problems,” he said.
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