MAPAILA: NO AUTOMATIC SUPPORT — SACP NOW HOLDS THE KEY

 


By AFRICA KA MAHAMBA 

THE SOUTH AFRICAN Communist Party (SACP) has shocked Mzansi.

After winning 226 council seats with 2.39% of the vote, the party that many wrote off is now the party that everyone needs.

SACP General Secretary Solly Mapaila made it clear on Wednesday: there will be no automatic support for any party.

"We will negotiate on our terms," Mapaila said.

"We are not a rubber stamp. We are not here to just approve what others decide. If you want to work with the SACP, you must talk to us about jobs, services and a left agenda for the poor."

That one sentence has changed politics in South Africa.

For years, the SACP stood with the ANC. Now, Mapaila says that relationship must be earned, not assumed.

The SACP contested elections on its own for the first time in years — and it worked.

The party secured 226 council seats across the country. It got 2.39% of the national vote.

That may sound small, but in local government, small numbers decide everything.

South Africa now has 110 hung councils — councils where no party won outright. No one can govern alone.

In those councils, the SACP is now the kingmaker. Without its 226 councillors, the ANC, DA, MK Party and others cannot form a stable coalition.

The SACP is no longer on the outside. It is holding the key.

The reaction in the cartoon says it all.

The ANC is shocked. The party that used to count on SACP support now has to negotiate for it.

The DA is confused. The party won 24.56% of the vote, but even with that big number, it cannot govern in hung councils without partners.

The MK Party, represented by uMkhonto weSizwe Party, says: "So, the SACP is back?!"

The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) says: "This is not in our script!"

And they are right. This is not in anyone's script. A new political game has started in town — and the SACP holds the key.

Mapaila says the SACP will not support any coalition for free.

Any party that wants SACP support must agree in writing to deliver services — water, electricity, roads and refuse removal.

The SACP wants policies that protect workers, the poor and communities, not just business and tenders.

Mapaila has warned that the SACP will walk away from any coalition that protects corruption.

"We will not sell our principles for positions," Mapaila said.

That is why the party is now in a strong position. It can say yes, and it can say no.

The next few weeks will be about negotiations.

In each hung council, parties will knock on the SACP's door. The SACP will listen, but it will not rush.

Political analysts say this is the most powerful the SACP has been in 30 years.

For the first time, the party can demand real change from inside councils, not just from outside.

Whether it works with the ANC, the DA, or smaller parties will depend on one thing: who agrees to its terms?

One thing is clear: South African politics will never be the same again.

The SACP shocked Mzansi. Now Mzansi must listen to the SACP.

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