South African Communist Party

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South African Communist Party
Chairperson	Blade Nzimande
General Secretary	Solly Afrika Mapaila
First Deputy General Secretary	Madala Masuku
Second Deputy General Secretary	David Masondo
Founded	12 February 1921; 104 years ago (1921-02-12)
Preceded by	International Socialist League
Headquarters	4th Floor Cosatu House 110 Jorissen Street Johannesburg Gauteng[1]
Newspaper	Umsebenzi
Youth wing	Young Communist League of South Africa
Membership (2015)	220,000[2]
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism[3]
Political position	Far-left
National affiliation	Tripartite Alliance
International affiliation	IMCWP
Regional affiliation	Africa Left Networking Forum
Colours	Red   Black   Yellow
Party flag
Website
www.sacp.org.za
Politics of South Africa Political parties Elections

The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded on 12 February 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing National Party under the Suppression of Communism Act, 1950. The Communist Party was reconstituted underground and re-launched as the SACP in 1953, participating in the struggle to end the apartheid system. It is a member of the ruling Tripartite Alliance alongside the African National Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and through this it influences the South African government. The party's Central Committee is the party's highest decision-making structure. Although the party has not left the Tripartite Alliance, the SACP has announced its intention to break with the ANC and run its own candidates in the 2026 local elections, following the ANC's decision to enter a unity government with right-wing parties.^[4][5][6]