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Chris Matlhako

JOHANNESBURG. — The South African Communist Party (SACP) resolved on Saturday to contest future elections on its own but remain on the reconfigured alliance with the ruling African National Congress.

At the closing of the SACP Congress in Johannesburg, Chris Matlhako, the party’s second deputy general secretary said, SACP Central Committee will draw modalities and roadmap on how the party will go about contesting elections.

“After considerable debate at congress, we have resolved that while the SACP will certainly contest elections, the exact modality in which we do so needs to be determined by way of a concrete analysis of the concrete reality and through the process of active engagement with worker and progressive formations,” said Matlhako.

SACP is in a tripartite alliance with the ruling party ANC and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

SACP however expressed its commitment to remain in the tripartite alliance, which is reconfigured where they have more power and say. “The SACP remains committed to strengthening and consolidating our ANC alliance. This will require a significant reconfiguration. Whether the ANC has the capacity to lead its own process of renewal, and whether it will be able to once more play the critical role of uniting itself and its alliance remains uncertain,” he added.

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the congress and pleaded with SACP not to leave the alliance saying it has benefited South Africans in various ways.

COSATU and SACP have in the past campaigned for the ANC and asked their members to vote for the ruling party.

The SACP resolved to fight for radical land-reform through a major drive to expand black small-scale farming, facilitated through a land tax on absentee landlords and large farming operations. There are about 280 000 SACP members in the country. — Xinhua.