The African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa says as much as it cannot interfere with the South African Communist Party’s (SACP) resolution to contest elections independently, it does not agree with the decision.

He was speaking at the end of the four-day meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) at the Germiston Civic Centre in the East Rand.

Last year, the SACP vowed to contest the 2026 local elections independently after accusing the ANC of having failed to reconfigure the alliance.

Ramaphosa says the decision will have far-reaching implications for the broader alliance and the National Democratic Revolution (NDR).

He says this will have negative consequences for their alliance.

Ramaphosa says, “As the ANC, we have no wish nor do we have any intention to interfere with decision that the SA Communist Party has taken, however, we disagree with the decision because this decision has fundamental implication for the strategy and programs for the NDR and the alliance that has led the struggle for liberation in our country since the 1920s.”

“As the ANC, we are seriously concerned that this decision to participate in the election in their own name and this will significantly weaken the forces for national democratic change,” he adds.

VIDEO| Ramaphosa’s closing remarks at ANC NEC meeting: