The South African Communist Party (SACP) said on Sunday it was respectful of the African National Congress's (ANC's) "multiclass character" and was committed to working with all its alliance partners.

"We... respect the ANC's multi-class character," said SACP spokesperson Malesela Maleka.

"We know that the great majority of professionals, small entrepreneurs and business-people abhor reckless demagogy and right-wing bombast masking itself as militancy," he said in a statement issued after the party's central committee met in Johannesburg over the weekend.

"The SACP pledges to work closely with all our Alliance partners, including the ANC's Women's and Youth Leagues, to uphold the great traditions of our movement," he said.

Earlier this month, a three-day alliance summit was held with the ANC, SACP, the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African National Civics Organisation.

This week, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said there was no need for the ANC to be protected from the SACP.

"There is no revolutionary task of protecting the ANC from Communists," he said at the time, adding that the two organisations influenced each other.

"The ANC is quite capable of influencing, and is liable to be influenced by others," said Mantashe.

On Sunday, Maleka said SACP membership currently stood at 96,049.

He said during the weekend meeting, draft political and organisational reports were tabled and discussed ahead of the party's national congress to be held in Polokwane in mid-December.