By Simon Nare
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has conceded the party has failed to persuade its alliance partner, the South African Communist Party (SACP), to abandon plans to contest state power in the 2026 local government elections but dismissed speculation that the alliance is collapsing.
Speaking to journalists ahead of a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Friday, Mbalula said ANC structures have no mandate from any conference resolution to end the tripartite alliance.
Instead, he said, the NEC will focus on the practical and political implications of the SACP’s decision, a move he warned could further affect the ANC’s electoral performance following its poor showing in the last national and provincial elections.
“The SACP has taken a decision, and that decision stands. The question before us, arising from the National General Council (NGC) and other mandates, is to guide our structures on what needs to happen, down to the granular detail,” Mbalula said.
“Is the alliance going away? No. Only a conference can answer that question. Our structures mandated us to deal with the practicalities, not to break the alliance. There is no division; we do not have that mandate.”
He added that the future of the alliance, along with the issue of dual membership, will be addressed in the ANC’s strategy and tactics documents.
While the ANC constitution permits dual membership, Mbalula stressed that members who stand for election against the ANC cannot retain party membership.
“In the context of the SACP’s decision, this raises important questions for the ANC,” he said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently warned alliance members holding dual membership that there would be consequences for those who fail to campaign for the ANC in the upcoming local government elections.
“When I closed the National General Council, I said every ANC member must campaign for the ANC. What the president says becomes policy,” said Ramaphosa.
He said, in practical terms, election campaigning cannot accommodate individuals serving two organisations simultaneously.
Some SACP members who previously viewed the two parties as one are now faced with choosing between them at the polls.
“We have failed to convince the SACP not to contest an election. But that contest also comes with ramifications,” warned Mbalula.
He added: “This meeting will deal with those practicalities. In line with our NGC mandate, we will provide clear direction to structures on the ground, including how we relate to each other during campaigning.”
Mbalula said the ANC will announce the outcomes of the Special NEC meeting once it concludes.
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