Mabuyane says ANC and SACP should consider post‑election cooperation where possible

ANC Eastern Cape chair Oscar Mabuyane said the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party should consider working together after the November 4 local government elections where electoral results create the opportunity for progressive forces to govern.

Message delivered at SACP Red October launch

Mabuyane made the comments while delivering the ANC’s message of support at the SACP’s Red October launch in Great Kei over the weekend. He acknowledged that the two parties would contest the election separately but urged planning for the period after voting.

Focus on programme, not positions

Mabuyane warned against making office allocation the basis of any post‑election arrangement. He said parties must first ask whether there is a programme around which they can govern together, rather than letting negotiations become solely about who holds which posts.

“That conversation cannot merely concern positions. It cannot simply become: Who becomes Mayor? Who becomes Speaker? Who becomes Chief Whip? Who receives which portfolio? That would reduce revolutionary politics to the arithmetic of office,”

Persistent social problems after the vote

He said the day after the election the country would still face major challenges, listing persistent social and economic issues: unemployment, poverty, inequality and the land question.

“The morning after the elections, unemployment will still confront us. Poverty will remain. Inequality will remain. The land question will remain,”

ANC acknowledges electoral vulnerability

Mabuyane said the ANC was entering the election in a more vulnerable position than at any previous local government election since 1994 and that the party “no longer possesses the political power it once commanded.” He said some of the party’s problems were self‑inflicted and linked the erosion of confidence to organisational weakness, factionalism, governance challenges, declining municipal capacity and a trust deficit.

“History does not grant any political organisation a permanent mandate. Every generation must earn anew the confidence of the people,”

Tripartite Alliance reconfiguration and roles in the state

Mabuyane raised the possibility that the Tripartite Alliance may need reconfiguration after the election, saying the post‑November 4 environment could compel the alliance to give concrete meaning to that concept. He said such a process would require discussing the alliance’s strategic purpose, decision‑making, the role of organised labour, the ANC‑SACP relationship and its programme.

On SACP members who hold public office, Mabuyane said they should not be removed simply because the party is contesting elections independently and said public office holders should be judged on competence, integrity, performance and commitment to transformation.

“I think as ANC we should not hound SACP members out of positions they occupy across the state merely because the SACP has decided to contest elections independently as some are also members of the ANC in their own right,”

“We must resist transforming contradictions among allies into antagonisms among enemies,”

Call for restraint during the campaign

While acknowledging that the ANC and SACP would compete for votes before November 4, Mabuyane urged members to exercise political discipline and avoid deepening tensions. He invoked the parties’ shared history and warned that an election should not turn allies into enemies.

“There will be political differences. There will be criticism. There will probably be moments of tension,”

“We may enter 4 November under different banners. But on 5 November, history will still confront us with the same South Africa,”

“The ANC remains your strategic ally. The SACP remains part of our Alliance.”