The ANC will require members who also belong to the South African Communist Party (SACP) to declare, from Thursday, which of the two organisations they will campaign for ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The move comes as the ANC begins internal processes to select mayoral candidates, with the party seeking to limit potential conflicts of interest during what is expected to be a closely contested municipal poll. The ANC’s directive is grounded in Rule 25.17.14 of the party constitution, which prohibits members from campaigning for another political party.
The decision places several senior figures under scrutiny, including mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe, higher education minister Buti Manamela and deputy finance minister David Masondo, all of whom are known to hold dual membership in both the ANC and SACP.
The ANC and SACP are longstanding allies within the tripartite alliance, alongside Cosatu. However, tensions have surfaced periodically over electoral strategy, particularly at the local level, where the SACP has at times considered contesting elections independently.
The party has not indicated whether members who opt to campaign for the SACP would face disciplinary action, though the constitutional provision allows for sanctions in cases of non-compliance.
“Dual membership of the SACP will remain. But there is no dual contesting of elections. When you contest, you choose whether you support the party or the ANC,” secretary-general of the ANC Fikile Mbalula told journalists on Monday.
The ANC is going into these elections weaker than before as the party lost its national majority in 2024, and is now in a coalition government at the national level and at all metros except for Mangaung and Buffalo City Metro.
Local government performance is one of its biggest political vulnerabilities right now because of longstanding issues in multiple municipalities including service delivery protests and water issues.
The ANC is scheduled to formally launch its elections campaign in July, having completed its internal processes to appoint mayoral candidates in June.
The party is looking outside its membership for its mayoral candidates and Mbalula said that regional chairs are not a shoo-in to become the party’s choice for mayor as per historical practice.
“We will go for the best, and we are not confining ourselves to who got elected. If the chair of the region among those interviewed is the person we believe can be the mayoral candidate, that will be it,” he said.
“We are running an ANC-led election campaign, not personalities. We are electing mayoral candidates just for quality assurance to ensure we get good people.”
An election date is yet to be announced. The earliest it can be held is in November.
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