SACP

About the party

Inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution, the South African Communist Party (SACP) was formed in Cape Town in 1921 by white socialist workers and immigrants as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). The National Party government passed the Suppression of Communism Act in 1950, forcing the party to dissolve itself. It was re-established in 1953 under the name South African Communist Party (SACP) and in 1990 it was unbanned and returned to public politics. The party is part of the Tri-partite Alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the African National Congress (ANC). In recent years, tensions have grown within the alliance, resulting in SACP announcing it will contest the 2026 local government elections independently of the alliance.