SACP to contest elections independently

The SA Communist Party will contest elections on its own.

The party on Saturday reaffirmed a 2007 congress decision to contest for state power‚ with its 1‚819 delegates successfully pushing for the move.

The party's augmented central committee will draw up a roadmap to determine how the SACP will prepare to contest elections.

However‚ the party will not immediately break away from the ANC or the tripartite alliance.

It will argue for a reconfigured alliance - that all members of the alliance be treated equally and make governance decisions together.

In its declaration‚ the party said it "remains committed to strengthening and consolidating our ANC alliance"‚ adding that "this will require a significantly reconfigured alliance".

The SACP‚ however‚ expressed doubts about the ANC's ability to undertake a process of renewal.

General secretary Blade Nzimande said the ANC-led alliance currently was dysfunctional and would have to be reformed.

"The alliance mode of operation is incapable of holding the alliance together. We want to engage as equals‚ not as an extension of any of our allied forces‚" he said.