Africa

ANC’s invitation to parties for talks on national unity government gets mixed response

Ramaphosa announces ANC has decided on a broad alliance rather than coalition with one of the bigger parties

ANC president and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa with South African deputy president and ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile at the party's national executive committee meeting in Borksburg, east of Johannesburg, on June 6th, 2024. Photograph: Phill Magakoe/AFP

Bill Corcoran in Capetown
Fri Jun 7 2024 - 17:55

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s invitation to opposition parties to begin talks on a government of national unity with the African National Congress has received a mixed response from his political opponents in South Africa.

Since failing to win a majority in last week’s general election the ANC’s senior leaders have been involved in discussions around the most appropriate form of government for the next five years.

The ANC won 40.18 per cent of the vote in the May 29th ballot, which means it remains South Africa’s most popular party. However, it must share power because its support fell below the 50 per cent plus one vote threshold it needed to govern alone.

On Thursday the ANC’s top decision-making body, the 80-member national executive committee, met in Johannesburg to finalise its preferred form of government. Afterwards Mr Ramaphosa announced the party had decided on a broad alliance rather than a coalition with one of the bigger parties.

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“Political parties should come together to forge a common future for our country,” Mr Ramaphosa told reporters. “We must act with speed to safeguard national unity, peace, stability, inclusive economic growth, non-racialism and non-sexism.”

Analysts say the ANC’s decision to seek a broad alliance is rooted in its fear of alienating its dwindling support base, many of whom are reluctant to work with the main opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The last time South Africa saw such an arrangement was under former president Nelson Mandela. In 1994 his ANC formed a unity government with the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party at the end of white minority rule to foster a peaceful transition of power.

On Friday opposition parties began discussing Mr Ramaphosa’s offer, and it quickly became clear that securing a broad alliance was far from a forgone conclusion because of interparty rivalries.

The DA, which won nearly 22 per cent of the national vote, said that because the ANC made its offer to all political parties in parliament it was more difficult to get on board with it.

In recent months DA leader John Steenhuisen has said the party wants to keep the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party out of government.

“We remain committed to the process [of negotiation], but the broad invitation ... has undoubtedly complicated matters,” party spokesperson Werner Horn said.

While the Inkatha Freedom Party said it was open to a coalition the EFF confirmed it would not join a government that included the DA. The MK party has yet to respond to the offer but has previously said it will not work with the ANC if Mr Ramaphosa is its leader.

A large group of the parliament’s smaller parties have also called on political leaders to outline the new government’s agenda, saying they could not commit to, or reject, the ANC’s offer until it was clear.

South Africa’s political parties have 14 days from the election result’s announcement on June 2nd to form a new government.

Bill Corcoran

Bill Corcoran

Bill Corcoran is a contributor to The Irish Times based in South Africa

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