Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
22 October 2026 | 12:03 CAT
3-minute read

In brief:

• ANC, SACP and COSATU alliance under strain, putting ANC in a tight spot
• Con court ruling in favour of ANC in IED candidate nomination dispute reveals a need for more explicit instructions from the IEC
• The intersection of celebrity culture with politics comes at the expense of policies and political substance
• An unused vote leaves political bargaining in the hands of those who do participate

ANC, SACP and COSATU alliance under strain

As South Africa heads towards the local government elections, shifting political alliances, celebrity candidates and social media algorithms are reshaping the electoral landscape.

One of the major flashpoints is the tripartite alliance of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which is facing deep internal strain.

In an interview on Radio Islam International, Professor Sethulego Matebesi of the University of the Free State discussed how significant the breakdown of traditional political loyalties is and what it could mean for the outcome of the vote.

“For the very first time, the African National Congress doesn’t just need to compete against the opposition, but it now has to compete against its own allies,” the associate professor and academic head of department of sociology, Professor Matebesi said.

He highlighted the significance of the political shift taking place within SA’s labour movement. During the reconvened 15^th National Congress, COSATU officially broke away from its historic stance of offering exclusive political endorsement to the ANC. This means that members can now vote for the SACP without giving their vote to the ANC.

“This will have huge implications for an ANC that could not even win elections outright with its federation intact during the last round or the national election. So the ANC is under tremendous pressure,” Professor Matebesi said.

IEC’s candidate submission process and con court ruling

On 15 October, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the ANC, directing the Electoral Commission (IEC) to reinstate 181 disqualified candidates across six municipalities onto the ballot papers. The order overturned a previous decision by the Electoral Court, which had upheld the exclusion of these candidates due to the ANC missing the final submission deadline.

Professor Matebesi said the ruling prioritised protecting citizens from being disenfranchised by technicalities over adherence to administrative rules. The intervention, he said, stopped what many views as a minor issue – failing to press a submission button – from stripping thousands of citizens of their democratic right to vote for their preferred candidates.

He contends that while the IEC’s processes are not considered unfair, the episode exposes a need for more explicit instructions. The IEC will likely introduce clearer, more definitive guidelines ahead of the next national elections.

Analysts have expressed hope that political parties will respect and follow established administrative guidelines rather than taking advantage of this legal precedent.

“We hope that political parties will not take advantage of this judgment. Because we need a bit of discipline in our system, where political parties themselves respect processes. How are you going to govern if you don’t want to follow certain guidelines?” Professor Matebesi said.

Personality-driven politics at the expense of political substance

A significant development is the rise of celebrities and well-known personalities in the political arena, as well as a rise in the influence of social media trends on political conversations.

Professor Matebesi said that while the shift is a global phenomenon and not unique to South Africa, it comes at the expense of policies and political substance.

In recent times, political recruitment and campaigning have shifted away from traditional leadership development toward a “currency of attention”. Rather than building political capital over decades, major political parties are increasingly capitalising on individuals with pre-assembled audiences, such as television and radio personalities, musicians, and lifestyle influencers.

Professor Matebesi warns that there is a major difference in using popularity to draw people to a political event and serving in a municipality, where many South Africans face service delivery challenges.

The intersection of celebrity culture with politics has resulted in a shift away from identity politics to more ideology- or issue-based politics, Professor Matebesi observed. He cites the example of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), a party historically rooted in Afrikaner identity and minority self-determination, which has found its image inadvertently transformed by digital culture.

Historically, the idea of black South Africans wearing FF+ T-shirts or attending their gatherings in significant numbers was virtually unthinkable. Yet, a viral song—not even created by the party itself, but by an independent creator—has served as an accidental catalyst, softening and advancing the party’s image across demographic lines.

The FF+ could not have planned for this viral moment, but it is undeniably working in their favour. This phenomenon signals a profound shift away from South Africa’s deeply entrenched identity and race-based politics.

“And perhaps this is good for democracy in South Africa, where many people are now moving away from identity politics or race-based politics to more ideology or issue-based politics,” Professor Matebesi said.

Your vote is a very powerful currency

Professor Matebesi contends that an unused vote leaves political bargaining in the hands of those who do participate, highlighting the importance of casting a vote and the risk of leaving it for others to decide.

“What South Africans don’t realize, and potential voters, is that they’ve got a power to change the current scenario at local government. And our vote is a very powerful currency, which you can buy the type of council that you want,” he said.

He also urged voters to consider how political parties have handled coalition governments and whether they should be held accountable for the disruption witnessed in several municipalities.

He said voters should assess whether parties and their councillors have the capability to address basic service delivery challenges and represent the interests of local residents.

The ability to provide clean drinking water, he said, remains one of the key issues voters should consider when deciding who to elect.

He added that voters should look beyond political promises and consider which parties have the political experience and capability to protect South Africa’s interests, particularly at local government level.

Listen to the full interview with Professor Sethulego Matebesi on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.