The South African Communist Party (SACP) is emerging as a surprise performer in the 2026 local government elections, with preliminary results showing growing support in the Eastern Cape.
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The party has contested the elections independently for the first time, trying not to depend on its long-standing alliance with the African National Congress (ANC).
Preliminary results show that the SACP has secured 2.48 percent of the vote nationally. In the Eastern Cape, traditionally one of the ANC’s strongest provinces, the party is currently in third place with 6.03% of the vote.
The SACP is recording encouraging support in Limpopo and the Northwest, suggesting that its decision to contest the elections independently may have a positive impact in getting votes in different provinces.
The SACP National spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana says the party is pleased with the preliminary results and believes they confirm that its decision to contest the elections independently was the right one.
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Mandlana says the results also support the party’s decision to contest elections across the country, rather than limiting its participation to certain areas.
“We are pleasantly boosted by this affirmation of our actions. It affirms our decision to contest wall to wall. It affirms our decision to reclaim our position as a party in the electoral sense since the 1930s and 40s as an old organization in the democratic era,” said Mandlana.
The SACP’s decision to contest independently has shifted, given its long history of working alongside the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) through the Tripartite Alliance.
Its performance in the Eastern Cape is particularly significant, as the province has long been considered an important support base for the ANC.
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