President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for discussion on establishing a government of national unity with the involvement of the African National Congress (ANC) has sparked diverse responses from South African political opponents.
The ANC, after failing to attain a majority in the previous general election, has been exploring options for an effective governance model for the forthcoming five years. They achieved 40.18 per cent of the total votes in the May 29th election, thereby still considered the most favoured party in South Africa. However, their vote share fell short of the 51 per cent requirement for sole governance, imposing the necessity of power sharing.
During a meeting in Johannesburg, the ANC’s national executive committee’s 80 members decided in favour of a broad alliance over a partnership with larger parties. Cyril Ramaphosa stated their intent was to forge a shared future for South Africa, emphasizing the need for unity, tranquility, inclusive growth, non-racialism and non-sexism.
ANC’s move for a wider alliance may be driven by their apprehension of losing their shrinking support base, as many are reluctant to ally with the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition. A similar instance of unity government occurred under ex-president Nelson Mandela in 1994 during the white minority rule transition, involving the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party.
Following Ramaphosa’s proposition, interparty tensions have surfaced as rival parties began discussions. The DA, having secured close to 22 per cent of national votes, expressed difficulty in accepting the ANC’s general invitation to all parliamentary parties.
John Steenhuisen, DA leader, recently expressed the party’s preference to exclude the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and ex-president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party from governance. DA spokesperson Werner Horn admitted the broad invitation has complicated matters, despite their commitment to negotiations.
The Inkatha Freedom Party announced willingness towards forming a coalition whereas the EFF declared their refusal to be part of a government that includes the DA. The MK party is yet to reply to this proposal but has earlier expressed that it won’t cooperate with the ANC under Mr Ramaphosa’s leadership.
Furthermore, numerous minor parties in the parliament have urged political heads to shed light on the future government’s plan. They stated that they needed clarity before making a decision on the ANC’s offer.
Post the announcement of the election results on June 2, political parties of South Africa have a 14-day window to establish a new government.