The African National Congress (ANC), uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are all on an invite list for a “Conference of the Left”, scheduled for the end of the month.

To be held under the auspices of a steering committee headed by South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Solly Mapaila. Its intention is to configure a collective approach by “leftist” bodies in the run-up to the local government elections in November. The SACP had moted such an idea in the past.

Among its objectives is to form a Council of the Left, which will co-ordinate activities of the various participating groups and undertake political education.

The conference comes as the SACP has committed to contesting the election under its own banner. Previously, SACP members had participated in elections as ANC members. The implicit challenge to the ANC has caused severe tensions in their alliance.

The SACP was also critical of formation of the Government of National Unity, which includes centrist and right-leaning parties such as the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus. It advocated forming a partnership with the EFF and MK instead.

The Conference is expected to attract 300 delegates. In addition to the parties that trace their origins to the ANC after 1994, the Azanian People’s Organisation and the Pan Africanist Congress (itself a GNU member) are expected to attend, as are trade unions, and leftist social movements.

The goal is not to develop an electoral strategy but would “inform” how they approached the elections and the future beyond them. The proposed council would not be a leadership body: “Organisations join it with their full identity intact and co-ordinate where interests and priorities converge.”

The SACP explained the rationale for the Conference in a concept note “Capital holds the commanding heights. The left is fragmented. The moment is urgent.”

“The moment is also shaped by the specific political terrain of the 2026 local government elections,” it continues, “Left forces must approach the electoral terrain not as an end in itself but as one front.”

At this writing, the ANC and MK has not committed to attending, while the EFF had.

The initiative echoes a number of previous attempts to consolidate left-leaning political and civic groups, the most recent of which the was short-lived Progressive Caucus in Parliament. Far left wing political offerings (particularly those rooted in a Marxist tradition, as opposed to more populist or personality driven ones) have had limited appeal, with survey evidence showing that most South Africans are generally moderate in their politics. Bad blood between the ANC, EFF, and MK would further complicate a working arrangement.