The South African Communist Party (SACP) has recently released a statement, declaring that from 29 to 31 May 2026, South African organisations of the left will converge in Boksburg for a national Conference of the Left, convened under the theme “Building a Left Movement for Working Class and Popular Power.”
South African Communist Party progresses preparations ahead of Left Conference
On 19 May, the Media, Communications & Information Department of the SACP issued a statement, announcing that at the end of May 2026, South African left forces will convene the Conference of the Left to build working-class unity.
"The Conference of the Left is collectively convened by organisations of various forms that identify with political aims and objectives conventionally associated with the leftist political tradition," the SACP expressed, adding that "The Conference of the Left is not intended to form a new political party, nor is it to impose ideological uniformity. Its purpose is to strengthen coordination, unity in action, political education and organised struggle among diverse left, working-class and popular formations."
The SACP noted that the convening process of the Conference of the Left is driven by a steering committee, composed of representatives from various organisations that are part of the conference.
According to the SACP statement, the central task of the conference "is to lay the foundations for a Left Popular Front capable of uniting the working class, the poor and progressive forces in sustained struggle against capitalist exploitation and for socialist transformation."
The SACP has called on all progressive and revolutionary forces to support this historic initiative as part of the broader struggle for a socialist South Africa.
SACP welcomes Cosatu’s engagement with the party on the Conference
In an earlier statement on May 17, the SACP declared that the South African Communist Party welcomes the Congress of South African Trade Unions' (Cosatu) engagement with the SACP on the Conference of the Left. Cosatu is known as the largest trade union federation across the country.
"Cosatu has been part of the broader political process towards the Conference of the Left. While the initiative was originally advanced by the SACP, the conference is now being driven through a broader Steering Committee made up of social and political formations, including Cosatu and other progressive forces," the SACP noted.
"The SACP remains firmly committed to ensuring that the Conference of the Left becomes a unifying platform for workers, communities, social movements, progressive organisations and left formations to develop a common programme of action," the SACP concluded.