THE South African Communist Party (SACP) leadership congratulated comrades in the Free State at the weekend over their participation in the Metsimaholo by-election.

The annual augmented central committee meeting in Ekurhuleni commented: “While the SACP had hoped to achieve a marginally better result, winning three council seats after only campaigning for two weeks was a remarkable achievement.”

The municipal poll marked the first occasion since the party was declared illegal in 1950 that it contested an election independently of the ANC.