The recent by-elections in the Western Cape were a "disaster in all respects", the ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, said on Saturday.

He said while Limpopo might be declared a disaster area because of the cholera epidemic; because of the by-elections, the Western Cape was "one province that should be declared a disaster area".

Speaking at the Young Communist League's conference in Johannesburg, Mantashe said there was no justification for waiting until the last minute to register ANC candidates for the by elections.

This week the Democratic Alliance won nine of the 18 wards previously held by the ANC during by-elections in the Western Cape.

Four of the nine were contested by both the ANC and Cope.

At the time, ANC Western Cape chairman Mcebisis Skwatsha said the party would ask the Constitutional Court to nullify the results in wards where the Independent Electoral Commission had turned away a dozen of its candidates who did not meet the registration deadline.

On Saturday, Mantashe also said it was the duty of the communist party to be the pressure from the left in the alliance.

He also admonished young communists to be directly involved in their communities, saying: "Communists must deal with solutions."