(Cape Town) Cyril Ramaphosa, re-elected president of South Africa by Parliament on Friday, is working on Saturday to form a new government after his ANC party reached an unprecedented agreement with the main opposition party, the liberal DA .
The United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, neighboring Zimbabwe and the European Commission congratulated Mr. Ramaphosa on Saturday, who obtained 283 votes the day before, far ahead of the other candidate Julius Malema of the radical left party EFF (44 votes).
The inauguration of the 71-year-old head of state is expected to take place on Wednesday in Pretoria, according to a government source.
“It’s a historic day” and “the start of a new chapter of construction, of cooperation,” commented DA leader John Steenhuisen on Friday.
According to the ANC, President Ramaphosa should announce an “inclusive national unity government” comprising, in addition to the DA, the Zulu nationalist Inkhata Party (IFP) and other small parties.
Nelson Mandela’s party said it was “ready to put aside our political differences, to find innovative ways to work together in the interests of our nation”.
The legislative elections at the end of May marked a historic turning point for South Africa, putting an end to thirty years of hegemony of Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC). The party which defeated the hated apartheid regime thus lost its absolute majority in Parliament for the first time.
The future government will gravitate “around the center”, between the ANC, which remains in the majority with 159 of the 400 deputies, the Democratic Alliance (DA, 87 seats) and the Zulu nationalist party Inkhata (IFP, 17 seats).
John Steenhuisen estimated that this multi-party government is “the best opportunity” for the country “to obtain stability and good clean governance”, far from the corruption which has tainted the ANC in recent years.
He clarified that the allocation of ministerial posts had not yet been decided. “We talk about values and principles first, then positions,” he added.
Mr. Ramaphosa, a former trade unionist who made his fortune in business before returning to politics, displayed a frank relaxation last week, while he conducted tight negotiations behind the scenes.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday congratulated Cyril Ramaphosa on his re-election.
Welcoming the collective work carried out by the parties to form a government of national unity, Joe Biden welcomed “that the United States and South Africa continue their collaboration in order to broaden economic prospects, invest in solutions clean energy and demonstrate that democracy keeps its word,” according to a White House press release.
China, South Africa’s key partner, congratulated Mr. Ramaphosa with a “message” from its President Xi Jinping, the official New China news agency said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, congratulated Mr. Ramaphosa by welcoming “South Africa’s joint efforts to restore a just peace in Ukraine” while Russian President Vladimir Putin said he appreciated Ramaphosa for his “personal contribution to the development of a strategic partnership” between their two countries.
“With your leadership qualities and experience, South Africa is in good hands,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.
The president of neighboring Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, saw in the re-election of Mr. Ramaphosa “a broad testimony of the great confidence” of the people in him.
Without the left
For several days, an ANC-DA-IFP troika had taken shape, despite tensions on the left of the ANC, which took a dim view of an alliance with the DA party, appreciated by the business world, but which remains widely perceived as the party of whites and opposed to the weight of social assistance on the budget in particular.
On Wednesday, the leader of Inkhata justified his participation in the future government by the need for “stability” to respond to the difficulties of South Africans, weighed down by endemic unemployment, strong inequalities and recurring power cuts.
Earlier, President Ramaphosa had invited all parties to “work together” to form a “government of national unity”, a reference to the formula found at the end of apartheid uniting the first black president Nelson Mandela with the last white president , Frederik de Klerk.
The MK, the new party of former president accused of corruption Jacob Zuma, which has become the third political force with 58 seats, has refused any discussion with the ANC.
His party continues to contest the results of the legislative elections and its deputies were largely absent from this first parliamentary session on Friday.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF, 39 seats), which advocates the confiscation of land from whites or the privatization of mines, refused to join the coalition government.