NATASHA MARRIAN: Allies to duel it out over dual membership

The SACP opens its electoral gambit next month with a by-election in Polokwane that it will contest on its own for the first time. 

Though the party took a clear decision to do this, the ANC was under the impression there would be further discussions and that the decision could be reversed. The latest development indicates that the SACP will not be swayed, posing a stark conundrum for the ANC — is the SACP an ally or an opponent? 

This is a crucial question given the long-standing dual membership policy between the ANC and SACP. The ANC constitution clearly states that a member “joining or supporting a political organisation or a party other than an organisation or party in alliance with the ANC” has committed “misconduct”.

It is this clause that enabled the expulsion of former president Jacob Zuma, whose MK party contested the 2024 election and emerged as the third largest in the country.

In a not-so-veiled attempt to hold onto the ANC brand in his personal political venture Zuma insists to this day that he remains an ANC member, and as recently as Friday announced (in a statement adorned with the MK logo) that he will be challenging his expulsion from the ANC in court.

The SACP seems to be taking a similar approach. Remaining within the alliance yet contesting elections on its own serves to confuse potential voters, who may remain loyal to the ANC but are unhappy with its performance in government.

SACP senior leaders remain part of local, provincial and national government structures as part of the tripartite alliance, and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has understandably expressed frustration over the party’s decision to contest the by-election under its own banner.

Speaking at a recent regional conference in the Eastern Cape he said: “As I’m speaking to you now, in Limpopo in Peter Mokaba region we have a by-election there and they have fielded a candidate of the communist party against our candidate in the by-election. They are contesting … The communist party has actually defined itself outside the national democratic revolution.

“When you contest, you become a political party. I am saying it looks like the horses have bolted, but we are going to meet and address those particular questions … but from where I am seated, it looks like [for] the party [SACP] there is no turning back on this issue of contesting. As the ANC, we don’t support it,” Mbalula said. 

The SACP as an opponent also throws up difficulties for senior party leaders in ANC structures, including its national executive committee and within the government from local to provincial and national levels. In these platforms the ANC will be discussing strategy to reverse its diminishing electoral fortunes and it would be awkward having an electoral opponent in the room. 

The SACP has the support of large Cosatu unions, including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Education, Health & Allied Workers Union, and potentially police union Popcru. The federation as a whole will decide whether it will support the party at its midterm policy meeting in September. 

Again, NUM’s decision to support the SACP, announced this week, throws up challenges for the ANC. For one, NUM took a decision in the early 2000s to align its structures with those of the ANC. Whether they can remain in tandem is unclear — NUM’s membership numbers have declined dramatically. 

SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila is on record saying the move to contest the election is aimed at “strengthening” the ANC. Rather, it is set to further fracture it, as members may be forced to choose between the ANC and SACP in the next 18 months. 

The SACP is likely to push for enough support to enter coalitions with the ANC across councils in the country, but so is every other former splinter party with its own logo on the ballot. Either way, the ANC may have to act fast to get its electoral opponent out of its bed, or face the consequences. 

• Marrian is Business Day editor-at-large.