- Author, Barbara Plett Usher
- Role, Africa Correspondent
South Africa’s Parliament has re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s president following a historic coalition agreement between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties.
The new national unity government combines Mr Ramaphosa’s ANC, the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) and smaller parties.
In his victory speech, Mr Ramaphosa welcomed the new coalition and said voters expected leaders “to act and work together for the good of everyone in our country”.
The deal came on a politically dramatic day, in which the National Assembly met late in the evening to vote to confirm who would hold power in the new administration.
Earlier, a deal was reached after weeks of speculation over who the ANC would partner with after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years in last month’s elections.
It received 40% of the vote, while the DA came second with 22%.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula described the coalition agreement as a “remarkable milestone”.
It meant Mr Ramaphosa – who replaced Jacob Zuma as both president and leader of the ANC after a bitter power struggle in 2018 – was able to retain power.
The next step will be for Mr Ramaphosa to allocate ministerial posts, which will include members of the DA.
The multi-party deal does not involve two ANC breakaway parties, and they are likely to benefit if it fails to deliver the economic improvements voters demand.
But opinion polls suggest many South Africans want this unprecedented grand coalition to succeed.
The ANC has consistently scored above 50% since the country’s first democratic elections in 1994, which saw Nelson Mandela become president.
However, support for the party has declined significantly due to anger over high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime.
Speaking to South Africa’s parliament after his confirmation, Mr Ramaphosa recalled his party’s first presidential victory 30 years ago.
“We were here before, we were here in 1994, when we were seeking to unify our country and achieve reconciliation – and we are here now,” he said.
An alliance between the center-right DA and the ANC is unprecedented as the two parties have been rivals for decades.
Under Nelson Mandela, the ANC led the campaign against the racist apartheid system and won the country’s first democratic elections.
Critics of the DA have accused it of trying to protect the economic privileges the country’s white minority gained during apartheid – an accusation the party denies.
Speaking to lawmakers on Friday evening in Cape Town, DA leader John Steenhuisen said: “Today is a historic day for our country, and I believe it is the start of a new chapter. »
The National Assembly also swore in a president from the ANC, while the position of vice president went to the DA.
Among the party leaders who spoke after the deal was reached on Friday was Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, the party he founded after leaving the ANC in 2013.
He said that while his party accepted “the results and the voice of the South African people”, he criticized the deal, saying: “We do not accept this marriage of convenience, aimed at consolidating white monopoly power over the economy and means. of production in South Africa.
Gn headline
News Source : www.bbc.com
