The South African Communist Party (SACP) says its first independent local election has changed its relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), after it won 271 council seats and 2.38% of the national vote.
The party spent 32 years supporting the ANC at the polls as part of the Tripartite Alliance. Its decision to contest independently has now given it elected representation of its own, and leaders say the alliance must be reconfigured rather than return to its former arrangements.
The SACP won four seats in parts of Nelson Mandela Bay and also drew support in Limpopo and North West, according to IOL. The ANC remains the largest party nationally, while the Patriotic Alliance won 192 seats, ahead of the SACP’s total. Rise Mzansi secured nine seats and Build One South Africa seven, the report said.
Coalition support will depend on local priorities
SACP Central Committee and Politburo member Alex Mashilo said the party would not automatically enter coalition agreements. The party says its elected councillors are directly accountable to voters and that any cooperation should follow consultations with members and communities.
General secretary Solly Mapaila has also said the SACP’s support in hung councils cannot be assumed. The party intends to assess potential arrangements against shared priorities, particularly the needs of working-class and low-income communities.
This position complicates expectations that the SACP will automatically support the ANC in councils where no party has a majority. It also gives the party an independent base from which to negotiate and advocate its policies in municipal government.
Party calls for a broader left-wing programme
The SACP plans to convene a summit with left-wing groups that contested the election, following the creation of a Council of the Left. Mapaila said the gathering would explore a common political programme and strategy.
The election has therefore opened two parallel questions for the party: how to use its new council representation and what future structure should govern its relationship with the ANC and Cosatu. Those decisions will shape its approach to coalition negotiations and its place in South African politics beyond this election.
Source: IOL, “SACP wins 271 seats in first major independent election, wants Tripartite Alliance reconfigured,” by Simon Majadibodu, 11 November 2026. This is an original Sunday Express report based on that coverage.
Featured image: SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila. Image credit: Itumeleng English / ANA Studio (via IOL).