AS IT HAPPENED | Cyril Ramaphosa re-elected president of SA

Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected for a second term on Friday, after his humbled ANC cobbled together an unprecedented coalition government.

Lawmakers in Cape Town voted overwhelmingly to put Ramaphosa, 71, back in office for another five years after the May 29 general election that produced no outright winner.

“I am humbled and honoured that you, as members of the National Assembly, have… decided to elect me to be the President of the Republic of South Africa,” Ramaphosa said in his acceptance speech.

Last month’s election marked a historic turning point for South Africa, ending three decades of dominance by the African National Congress of the late Nelson Mandela.

The party that led the anti-apartheid struggle won only 40 percent of the vote and, for the first time, lost its absolute majority in parliament.

It has now struck a deal to form what it calls a government of national unity.

“This is a historic juncture in the life of our country, which requires that we must work and act together,” Ramaphosa said.

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said on Friday the broad coalition brings together a majority of the 18 parties that won representation in the 400-seat National Assembly.

These include the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA), the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party and other smaller groups.

Ramaphosa was re-elected by fellow MPs with 283 votes in a secret ballot.

He saw off a last-minute challenge by Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), whose candidacy gained 44 votes.

Ramaphosa will be sworn in next week in Pretoria and then unveil his new cabinet.

South Africa’s BRICS ally China welcomed Ramaphosa’s re-election on Saturday, with President Xi Jinping sending him a congratulatory note, according to state media.

Earlier, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo had opened the parliament’s first sitting, swearing in MPs in batches ahead of votes on the election of a speaker and deputy speaker.

The first post went to the ANC’s Thoko Didiza and, in a first sign the power-sharing deal was working, the second went to the DA’s Annelie Lotriet. Both are women and Lotriet is from South Africa’s white minority.

‘Illegal’ 

Lawmakers cast their ballot one by one in a lengthy ceremony held in a Cape Town convention centre, as the parliament building is being rebuilt after a 2022 fire.

EFF members took the oath wearing red overalls and in some cases rubber boots and plastic construction worker helmets.

They declined to support the incoming administration, having refused to countenance joining an alliance with right-wing or white-led parties.

“This is not a government of national unity, this is a grand coalition between the ANC and white monopoly capital. History will judge you harshly,” Malema said, after conceding defeat.

Graft-tainted former president Jacob Zuma’s new party uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), which came third in the election, has disputed the results and its MPs boycotted Friday’s sitting.

“The sitting of the national assembly today as far as we’re concerned is illegal and unconstitutional,” MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela told AFP.

A former trade unionist turned millionaire businessman, Ramaphosa will preside over a government combining radically different political views.

The ANC is a historically pan-Africanist, progressive party of the left that has overseen welfare and economic empowerment programmes for poor, black South Africans.

The largest coalition party, the DA, pushes a liberal, free-market agenda. Smaller parties that are understood to have agreed to join the government range from the left to the far right.

“At the heart of this government of national unity statement is a shared respect and defence of our constitution and the rule of law,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said.

No easy road 

The agreement extended to regional coalitions in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province and in KwaZulu-Natal.

Zuma’s MK won the most votes in the latter but was left empty-handed as coalition members managed to get a wafer-thin majority of 41 out of 80 provincial councillors.

Steenhuisen added that the coalition agreement included a consensus mechanism to deal “with the disagreements that will inevitably arise”.

“This is not the end of the process. And the road ahead will not be an easy one,” Steenhuisen said, explaining that the two-week deadline imposed by the constitution to form a government did not leave enough time to iron out all details.

Ramaphosa first came to power in 2018 after Zuma was forced out under the cloud of corruption allegations.

Under his watch South Africa suffered from record power cuts, the economy languished and crime remained rife. Unemployment is at almost 33 percent.

He will now have the arduous task to bridge conflicting views within government to turn around South Africa’s economic fortunes.

“Rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth” was listed as a top priority in a draft of the coalition deal.

GDP grew by only 0.6 percent in 2023 and was down 0.1 percent in the first three months of 2024.

The South African parliament re-elected the ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa president on Friday, in a comfortable 283 votes to 44 victory over left-wing opposition challenger Julius Malema.

“I accordingly declare honourable M.C. Ramaphosa duly elected President,” Chief Justice Raymond Zondo told the first meeting of the newly elected National Assembly.

ANC Leader Cyril Ramaphosa and EFF Leader Julius Malema have been nominated for the presidency.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo oversaw the nomination process.

ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli nominated Ramaphosa, who accepted “with pleasure”, receiving cheers from MPs.

Malema was nominated by UDM’s Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, also accepting amid cheers from EFF members.

The voting for the president will be conducted by secret ballot.

DA MP Annelie Lotriet has been elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, defeating ATM leader Vuyo Zungula with 273 votes to 54.

Zungula was supported by the EFF and the Progressive Caucus.

Lotriet’s election follows the formation of a “Government of National Unity” coalition by the ANC, DA, and IFP, with the ANC selecting the Speaker and President and the DA choosing the Deputy Speaker.

 

Thoko Didiza of the African National Congress (ANC) secured victory in the election for Speaker of both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

She defeated Veronica Mente of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) by a significant margin of 250 votes to 83.

Didiza got 284 votes.

She expressed gratitude to parties from across the political spectrum for supporting her nomination, as the new Government of National Unity (GNU) begins to take shape.

“I also commit that I will work with all the parties led by their whips and representatives to make sure we conduct the business of this parliament in a manner that indeed reflects the will of the people of South Africa,” she said.

The EFF demanded that the voting process for the new speaker be conducted publicly, leading to a pause in proceedings.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, presiding over Parliament, initially announced the counting would commence privately.

EFF MPs, including Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Floyd Shivambu, insisted that the ballots be counted in front of cameras, arguing for transparency.

 

Cape Town – South Africa’s newly elected parliament met on Friday and was expected to re-elect President Cyril Ramaphosa to form an unprecedented coalition government after his humbled ANC cobbled together a deal.

The leader of South Africa’s second largest party, John Steenhuisen of the centre-right the Democratic Alliance (DA), said it had reached an agreement with the ANC to form a multi-party coalition government

“The DA has reached agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a government of national unity,” he said, adding that the DA and the Zulu nationalist IFP would back the coalition, which they are calling a government of national unity.

“We will be supporting President Cyril Ramaphosa in his election for the president of the republic of South Africa,” Steenhuisen said, during a pause in the opening session of South Africa’s seventh parliament since the advent of post-apartheid democracy in 1994.

Earlier, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo had opened the first sitting, swearing in MPs in batches ahead of planned votes on the election of a speaker, deputy speaker and the president.

Members of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party took the oath wearing red overalls and in some cases rubber boots and plastic construction worker helmets.

But they will not be supporting the incoming administration, having refused to countenance joining an alliance with right-wing or white-led parties.

Ramaphosa, the fifth African National Congress president in 30 years, had called for a government of national unity after his party lost its absolute majority in last month’s general election.

But the EFF and other leftist parties shunned the deal.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, anticipated on Thursday that the government would “gravitate to the centre” — backed by the DA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and other smaller groups.

“We have reached a breakthrough on the common agreement that we need to work together,” Mbalula told a news conference in Cape Town.

EFF chief Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader who wants to nationalise land and some privately owned businesses, said his group was not ready to join hands with right-wing parties.

Graft-tainted former president Jacob Zuma’s new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), has disputed the May 29 election results and its MPs boycotted Friday’s first sitting of the 400-member assembly.

Ramaphosa is now expected to win the secret ballot of MPs to confirm his re-election. If that happens, he would be sworn in next week in Pretoria and then unveil his new cabinet.

Post-apartheid democracy 

For three decades since the defeat of apartheid, the late Nelson Mandela’s ANC has held an absolute majority and elected a president from its own ranks.

But the former liberation movement — weakened by corruption and recent governments’ poor economic performance — has seen support collapse, leaving it with only 159 seats.

Backing from the free market DA and its 87 MPs will secure a comfortable majority, especially with the addition of 17 more from the Zulu nationalist IFP, which is also joining the coalition.

“At the heart of this government of national unity statement is a shared respect and defence of our Constitution and the rule of law,” Steenhuisen said.

The coalition agreement extended to Johannesburg’s Gauteng province and  KwaZulu-Natal. It included a consensus mechanism to deal “with the disagreements that will inevitably arise”.

“Make no mistake about it. This is not the end of the process. And the road ahead will not be an easy one,” Steenhuisen said, explaining that the two-week deadline imposed by the constitution to form a government did not leave enough time to iron out all details.

Millionaire businessman 

A former trade unionist turned millionaire businessman, 71-year-old Ramaphosa first came to power in 2018 after Zuma was forced out under the cloud of corruption allegations.

Once described by Mandela as one of the most gifted leaders of his generation, Ramaphosa played a key role in the negotiations that brought an end to apartheid in the early 1990s.

Upon taking the reins of the country, he promised a new dawn for South Africa. But critics say he has disappointed.

Under his watch unemployment has reached an almost record high, pushing the ANC towards its worst election result ever. – AFP

 

 

Speaker voter is now under way

The leader of South Africa’s biggest opposition party, John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance (DA), said Friday it had reached an agreement to form a multi-party coalition government.

“The DA has reached agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a government of national unity,” he said, adding that the DA would join the ruling ANC and the Zulu nationalist IFP. – AFP

 

DA leader John Steenhuisen has announced that the party has signed an agreement to form a multi-party coalition with the ANC and other parties, described as a Government of National Unity.

This agreement was finalised on Friday morning as MPs were sworn in during the first sitting of parliament.

Steenhuisen informed supporters that the DA would now co-govern South Africa, following two weeks of negotiations that concluded after the start of the parliamentary session.

“After two weeks of negotiations that only concluded after today’s sitting of Parliament started, the DA has reached an agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a Government of National Unity.”

“Today the DA becomes a party of national government. From today the DA will co-govern SA in the spirit of unity and collaboration,” Steenhuisen said.

 

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has warned it will exit the African National Congress (ANC)’s government of national unity (GNU) if it doesn’t secure a ministerial position.

The PA, which has struck a deal with the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), has pledged to support their candidates in the upcoming parliamentary votes for president, Speaker, and Deputy President.

However, the PA insists on obtaining a significant cabinet role to make a meaningful impact, EWN reported on Friday.

PA leader Gayton McKenzie emphasized that his demand is not financially motivated, as he intends to donate his entire salary to a charity.

“If I don’t get a ministry, we are jumping out of the GNU because how will I justify why am I supporting the GNU if I get nothing for my people?,” the report quoted McKenzie as saying.

Cape Town – The Progressive Caucus, comprising six parliamentary parties with a total of 48 seats, has proposed that the ANC form a government without the DA and FF+.

According to EWN, they emphasised progressive values and the potential for a majority coalition with the ANC, urging them to consider this option over alliances with what they deem as apartheid-rooted parties.

The caucus intends to negotiate collectively with the ANC moving forward.

EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu suggested that the ANC still has an opportunity to replace the DA and FF+ with the Progressive Caucus.

“Let’s constitute a progressive government in south afric instead of collaboration with political parties that, as the Al Jamah-ah president is saying, are rooted in colonialism and apartheid.”

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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