South Africa: Nxesi Delivers SACP's Message to ANC At 113th Birthday Bash - 'Our Ally Is the ANC, Not the DA'

The ongoing fallout from the decision by the SACP to contest the 2026 municipal elections alone reached the stage of the ANC's 113th birthday bash, with the SACP's Thulas Nxesi claiming what was needed was 'cool heads' for upcoming discussions between the two-thirds of the Tripartite Alliance.

'We are all going to vote for the African National Congress (ANC)," said Richard Mkhungo, the president of the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco), as he gave a message at the ANC's 113th birthday celebration on Saturday.

But not everyone present at the Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha felt the same way.

As parties look towards the upcoming 2026 local elections, the ANC's Tripartite Alliance faces a dilemma: one key member, the South African Communist Party (SACP), has announced it intends to contest elections on its own.

At the birthday bash on Saturday, Sanco and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) made it clear that they are falling into line: they would vote for the ANC in 2026.

Sanco has representation in the national executive, with Mkhungo serving as a deputy minister for Defence and Military Veterans and treasurer Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala serving as a deputy minister for Employment and Labour.

Mkhungo said Sanco would start mobilising "for the victory of the ANC, come local government elections. We are all going to vote for the African National Congress, no doubt about that."

He added: "We are very happy with the programme of the ANC."

Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi,...

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