The ANC has issued a dire warning to its alliance partner, the SACP, cautioning that the latter’s decision to contest the 2026 local government elections independently could embolden right-wing forces and fracture the progressive movement.
In a detailed and impassioned document, the ANC laid bare its fears that the SACP’s move could lead to a weakened left, a fragmented working class, and a political landscape ripe for exploitation by conservative forces.
This is contained in ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s letter on Friday to ANC structures and members.
“The resolution presents challenges that can indeed be referred to as uncharted waters,” he wrote, warning that the SACP’s decision could have “far-reaching implications about the strategy and tactics of the national democratic revolution (NDR).”
At the heart of the ANC’s concerns is the fear that the SACP’s independent electoral contestation will divide the left and create a vacuum that right-wing forces will exploit.
The ANC’s perspective document, adopted by its national executive committee in August, paints a grim picture of the potential fallout. “The independent contestation by the party will have the effect of splitting the vote of black people in general and African people in particular and the working class.”
The ANC argues that the fragmentation of the left will weaken the progressive forces that have historically driven the transformation agenda.
“Any notion that the working class must abandon the national liberation movement and focus on contesting elections separate from the ANC at this point in our history will be a fatal mistake,” the document warns.
“It will only fragment and further fracture the working class and the motive forces at a time when the right-wing bloc is consolidating.”
The ANC’s fears are not unfounded. The 2024 general elections saw the ANC suffer significant losses, with right-wing parties making inroads into traditional ANC strongholds. Ironically, President Cyril Ramaphosa mysteriously decided to co-opt some of the parties into his government of national unity, which drew the ire of the SACP.
The ANC document acknowledges the upward trajectory of right-wing parties, noting, “there is a convergence of counter-revolutionary forces that found it easy to attack transformation due to the internal divisions and fragmentation of the progressive forces and motive forces”.
“The notion among the right-wing forces that the ANC is finished is either a serious miscalculation or wishful thinking,” the document states.
However, it cautions that the SACP’s move could inadvertently lend credence to this narrative, weakening the left’s ability to counter the right’s agenda.
The ANC is unequivocal in its belief that the SACP’s decision is a strategic miscalculation. It argues that the SACP’s influence within the ANC has been a significant asset, allowing the party to shape the direction of the liberation movement and advance progressive policies.
“The party is giving up more than 100 years of communist investment and contribution in the liberation movement.”
The ANC also questions the viability of the SACP’s proposed popular front approach, where alliance partners contest elections independently but collaborate to form a government post-election.
“What happens if the SACP does not do well in the elections and is not able to have a significant say in the new government as a function of limited support from the electorate?”
It warns that this could leave the SACP politically isolated, with diminished influence over the direction of the NDR.
The ANC expressed a willingness to engage with the SACP and explore measures to improve the workings of the alliance.
“That is why we have agreed on the need for reconfiguration,” the document states.
Despite its concerns, the ANC remains committed to the alliance and the broader struggle for national democratic change.
“Let us do everything to snatch victory from the jaws of what we see as a potential monumental defeat of the national democratic revolution in our country.”
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