Cosatu defends backing ANC and communists in local elections
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sabcnews
The president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Mike Shingange, reaffirmed that the federation would support both the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party in local elections. The position, already announced, was defended at a campaign rally in Thulamahashe, according to Sabcnews.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is backing both the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) in the 2026 local elections. Its president, Mike Shingange, defended this position on 25 October at an SACP rally in Thulamahashe, Mpumalanga province.
Shingange said there was no contradiction, as both parties are members of the political alliance supported by the trade union federation. He added that organised workers would vote for either one, in line with a resolution of Cosatu’s 15th congress calling for votes in favour of the SACP.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila said at the rally that his party was facing a hostile campaign because it did not receive funding from capitalist circles. The statement clarifies the simultaneous backing for both parties already announced by Cosatu for South Africa’s local elections on 15 October.
