In a historic move the South African Communist Party (SACP) will contest Wednesday’s Metsimaholo municipal election in the Free State under its own banner.
The decision will pit it against its alliance partner, the ANC, among others. It will be the first time the partners vie for political power against each other.
The SACP, ANC and Cosatu form the tripartite alliance, in which relationships have deteriorated to their lowest levels yet. The ANC has always contested elections as the political vehicle for the alliance, with the support of the two allies.
The re-election had to take place after the Metsimaholo council was dissolved in terms of section 139 (4) of the Constitution, governing what happens if a council fails in its legal obligation to approve a budget.
The budget for the 2017-18 financial year was due on June 30. Apart from the council being dissolved, an administrator was appointed for 90 days.
The municipality was initially governed by a coalition of the DA, Freedom Front Plus and the Metsimaholo Civic Association (MCA), with the voting support of the EFF after the 2016 local government elections.
The coalition government collapsed when mayor Sello Hlasa, from the MCA, was seen as more loyal to the ANC and the budget could not be passed.
In the lead-up to Wednesday, political heavyweights such as EFF leader Julius Malema and DA leader Mmusi Maimane campaigned in the small municipality, which delivers services to Sasolburg, Deneysville, Kragbron and Oranjeville. A total of 21 wards are up for grabs.
The SACP’s Solly Mapaila said the party was contesting all the wards, but that not all its candidates were SACP members, as some had been elected directly by the community.
Mapaila said that the party had decided to stand as it was requested by the SACP in Metsimaholo to do so. The chief reason for standing as the SACP and not just in support of the ANC as the political vehicle, was to "restore the values of our democratic movement".
"These values have become the values of our people. And these values have been violated in a very arrogant way. And we said we needed to step up. In their violations, they have violated the sanctity of our people as an entity. So we said we need to accept the punches on behalf of the people, as they try to protect the values themselves."
Mapaila said the SACP would enter a coalition with other parties, but that they would have to reaffirm fundamentals, such as the fight against corruption, nepotism and corporate capture of the municipality. The decision was not a general one, but specific to the municipality, he said.
ANC Free State spokesman Thabo Meeko said the move made life "very difficult" for the ANC, as the national leadership had given the instruction that the alliance was to be preserved.
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