Mashatile urged supporters to guard against perceived differences that could undermine the National Democratic Revolution.
ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile has declared that the party will win the upcoming local government elections on 4 November 2026, insisting that “victory is certain” as the ANC intensifies its campaign alongside alliance partners.
Mashatile addressed supporters at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Friday, 1 May 2026, where the ANC joined COSATU and its alliance partners to mark Workers’ Day.
ANC victory
He told the crowd that the ANC’s triumph in the polls was inevitable.
“The upcoming local elections are crucial, and the ANC, which has carried the hopes of our people and aspirations from liberation to democracy, must emerge victorious. Comrades, come 4 November, we must not campaign just for the sake of campaigning.
“We are campaigning to win, so victory is certain. It is through the ANC, working with its alliance partners, that the struggle for dignity, service delivery and transformation continues to find expression in the daily lives of our communities,” Mashatile said.
Concerns
He acknowledged the South African Communist Party’s (SACP) decision to contest the elections but warned against divisions that could weaken the working‑class struggle.
“The strength of our movement has always rested on the unity of the Tripartite Alliance…Comrades, we are indeed concerned about some of the recent developments that may weaken this unity.
“So, as the African National Congress, we are saying, while we respect the decision of the SACP to contest the coming local government elections, let us all do everything in our power to avoid the fragmentation of the working‑class struggles,” Mashatile said.
Closing ranks and unity
Mashatile urged supporters to guard against perceived differences that could undermine the National Democratic Revolution.
“Now more than ever before, we must close ranks, deepen political education and build a cohesive, disciplined and united movement of workers. I therefore want to join the leaders who spoke before me-the president of Cosatu, Zingiswa Losi, comrade Alex Mashilo and comrade deputy president of Sanco-who have called for the unity of the Alliance, that we as the Alliance must continue to work together.
“Let us not be divided by anything, comrades, and don’t be divided by anybody. We need this alliance to advance the National Democratic Revolution and ensure the complete emancipation of our people,” he said.
Mashatile reinforced the ANC’s commitment to workers’ rights, dignity and economic justice, stressing that the country must achieve economic liberation for all.
ANC and SACP
Last week, the ANC told the media that it had sent a communication to all its members who hold dual membership in both the SACP and the ANC, requiring them to declare whether they intend to campaign for the ANC or the SACP in the lead-up to the local government elections.
But the SACP retaliated to this stance, describing it as intimidation. The communists have also argued that the decision to contest elections without the ANC for the first time in democratic South Africa stemmed from a 2022 congress resolution.
The SACP also claimed that it avoided contesting the 2024 elections independently to create space to engage with the ANC on issues it is unhappy with.
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