The South African Communist Party (SACP) has instructed its members to ignore the ANC's directive regarding dual membership ahead of the local government elections.
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The South African Communist Party (SACP) has ordered its members to disregard the instruction issued by the ANC for members with dual membership to state in writing which party they will campaign for in the upcoming local government elections.
The party said it took exception to the instruction and viewed it as an attempt by the ANC to disenfranchise members regarding their right to dual membership.
Other SACP leaders in KwaZulu-Natal have already stated that the rank-and-file membership is unlikely to comply with the ANC's instruction. It was reported that the ANC instructed those with dual membership to submit in writing which party they will be campaigning for within the next ten days. The issue has come to the fore as the SACP has taken a resolution that it will contest the local government elections as a stand-alone political party. The matter has made the ANC uneasy, hence the decision by the party to call on dual members to clarify their stance.
Mbulelo Mandlana, Head of Media, Communications and Information in the SACP, said: “We firstly want to state clearly that we reject the press conference that was called by the ANC, as it seeks to disenfranchise members of their right to dual membership. We call on our members not to comply with that instruction.” He described the instruction as "unfounded and unjust", adding that it ignores the reality that dual membership is the basis of the alliance.
Mandlana spoke to The Mercury on a variety of issues, including the allegations that senior leaders had resigned from their leadership roles in the party following the instruction, and concerns that the SACP will not do well in the elections. “It is not true that leaders have resigned; that is just gossip," he said, responding to reports that Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela had resigned from his leadership role in the SACP.
On the party's poor showing in by-elections, he said it is incorrect to use by-elections as a measure of how they will perform in the upcoming local government elections. “That argument presupposes that the SACP should have nothing to do with elections. No political party can survive that. We may not get 50% in the election, but we will gain lessons that will strengthen us. The party is not going to die after this; we can only grow from this point.”
An ANC councillor and SACP member in eThekwini said those with dual membership were unlikely to comply with the ANC directive. “They will simply look at the instruction and ignore it.” He conceded that the party is facing challenges. “There are other parts of eThekwini where the SACP has been strong but is now facing challenges after the death of some of our leaders in those areas.”
Another SACP leader in KZN was more pessimistic about the party’s hopes in the election. “If you understand politics, you need to look at the trends and speak the truth. The by-elections have shown us this is the likely outcome of this decision. It is clear that the SACP will not do well; it will come off weaker after the elections.”
Cosatu leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Edwin Mkhize, said Cosatu was in a very difficult position. “We have workers that hold dual membership of both parties, while others are exclusively ANC and others are exclusively SACP, so this puts us in a very difficult position.
“We are going to a congress in September where this issue will be ventilated, and the rank-and-file members of the union will have to decide who they would want to align with and campaign for heading into the elections.
“They should be patient and understand that the DNA of our membership is very different, and we need to take direction from the members on the ground, which is what we will be doing in the September congress.”
Political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela said the SACP is facing a difficult future. “Any party that wins elections gains access to real power. The real question lies in the likelihood of that happening for the SACP, which has been struggling to secure wins in municipal by-elections.
“The breakup is bad because it suggests there are unresolved deep-seated grievances that have led the SACP to contest the elections,” he said.
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