The SACP's surprise 2024 decision to contest elections independently of the ANC marks a major break in a 70-year alliance shaped by subordination to African nationalism and acceptance of the ANC's neoliberal turn. Though the split was triggered by the ANC-DA coalition, the party remains hesitant to fully sever ties or define clear alternative policies. The article argues that meaningful left renewal is likely to come from disillusioned SACP members, workers and the unemployed, who could eventually form a united, explicitly anti-neoliberal front capable of reshaping South Africa's political landscape.

The unthinkable occurred in December 2024. The South African Communist Party (SACP) announced it would no longer remain subservient to the African National Congress (ANC). It would, for the first time, contest local elections - due in 2026 - against the ANC.

So unexpected was the event that it continues to attract a wide range of media coverage. This article seeks to extend the analysis provided by the editorial in Amandla! 99 and further developed by Brian Ashley on the website of Zabalaza for Socialism.

To better understand the enormity of the announcement, as well as its simultaneous limitations, along with the hope lying buried in both, requires a rush through the SACP's history. This requires recognising, in the SACP's own words, that, for most of its history, it has grappled with the "ever present question" of its relationship with the ANC.

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A bald history

The baldest outline of the party's history begins in 1921, with its formation as the first communist party in Africa. It also has the admirable distinction of being South Africa's first non-racial political party; an honour all the more memorable in a society structured on statutory racism. The SACP's Zulu name, Abantu abadla ndawonye, translates...