EYEBROWS have been raised after the SA Communist Party (SACP) applied to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to change its registered logo to include its abbreviation, months before the 2024 national and provincial elections.
The SACP asked the IEC to slightly alter its distinguishing mark or symbol, according to a legal notice published in the Government Gazette last week.
In terms of the Electoral Commission Act, a political party may submit an application to chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo to change its registered name, abbreviated name, distinguishing mark, or symbol.
The move sparked further speculation that the organisation was prepared to dump its traditional ally, the ANC, despite its undertaking earlier this month that it would not do so.
The SACP previously took the resolution to ditch the ANC and contest the elections on its own, only to make a U-turn.
The SACP said its distinguishing symbol on the IEC's records was missed and the abbreviated name of the Party and was not in accordance with the SACP's standards.
The SACP’s Dr Alex Mashilo said: “We had to make the corrections for the SACP distinguishing symbol on the IEC's records to include the Party's abbreviated name as used daily and to comply with other SACP standards governing the logo and its background.
“As we said in our Central Committee statement on December 3, our strategy for the 2024 elections is to continue engaging with our allies to reconfigure the Alliance. In addition we resolved to upgrade the engagements on the reconfiguration of the Alliance into an active struggle beyond the engagements with our allies.
“At the same time we are embarking on forging a popular left front and building a socialist movement of the workers and poor to deepen the daily struggles of the working-class and build its future insurance for all fronts of the broader political struggle and contestations taking place in our country.
“Every SACP National Congress will assess progress on both the reconfiguration of the Alliance, the popular left front and the socialist movement and make new decisions including on elections if necessary.”
The SACP has indicated that in its support for the ANC it will require participation in manifesto consultation and drafting processes, to ensure that the interests and aims find profound expression.
It also wants to ensure that ANC electoral lists consider the requisite capacity to serve diligently.
”Everyone on the lists must be subject to the collective accountability by the alliance and the people, over and above their individual alliance partner.
“What the representatives will say in legislative and executive organs of the state must also reflect the perspectives of the people at large and the alliance as [a] whole, as opposed to one partner,” the organisation said.
As resolved at its 2022 national congress, the SACP will continue building a popular left front and a powerful, socialist movement to intensify immediate working class struggles and hopes, to serve on all fronts going forward.
Cosatu's biggest affiliate, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), announced that it would be supporting the ANC despite the federation's decision to back the SACP in next year's polls.
This is despite Nehawu successfully pushing for the adoption of a resolution to allow the SACP to contest the 2024 elections at the federation’s national congress last year, a move the union still reaffirmed as correct this week.
Nehawu’s central executive committee said it would align itself with the SACP and Cosatu by campaigning for an outright majority victory for the ANC and will spare all available resources in making its contribution.
According to the union, the SACP is still its choice but the ANC is its option.
”The organised working class cannot fold its arms whilst watching a fraudulent right-wing takeover unfold through an elite power-grab arrangement as orchestrated through the multi-party charter, post-elections,” said Nehawu referring to the group of opposition parties hoping to topple the ANC next year.
Nehawu will convene a national political school after the elections to assess the outcomes and a concrete analysis to guide its review.
In October, Cosatu general secretary Solly Phetoe again threw the federation’s weight behind the ANC, saying they would back the governing party despite its “mistakes” and that Cosatu could not afford to hand over power to the enemies of the working class.
”With all of its faults, the ANC is the only party in the elections that has shown itself to champion working class interests and to be a reliable ally to Cosatu and workers.
“Let us go out to communities and campaign for an outright majority for the alliance across the nation in the 2024 elections,” he said.