The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that his African National Congress (ANC) party is keen on a government of National Unity, which he assured would reflect the will of voters and help move the country forward.
Ramaphosa announced late on Thursday after an hours-long meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in Johannesburg. ANC leaders held talks to agree on a post-election strategy.
The ANC had lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in the democratic era, but it remains the largest party in the country.
“We agreed to invite political parties to form a government of national unity as the best option to move our country forward,” Ramaphosa told reporters.
“The purpose of the government of national unity must be first and foremost to tackle the pressing issues that South Africans want to be addressed.”
He called for the “broadest unity” amongst South Africans to tackle the country’s issues, including crime, poverty, high cost of living and corruption.
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“This moment also calls for multiparty cooperation and multi-stakeholder collaboration if we are to overcome the severe challenges that confront our country,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that the ANC heard the people of South Africa and recognised their “frustration” voiced during the May 29 vote.
The former liberation movement has run South Africa since it swept to power with Nelson Mandela at the helm in the 1994 election that marked the end of apartheid. But it was punished for its chequered record in last week’s election.
While still the largest party, the ANC can no longer govern alone.
“This is a time for sober minds,” ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said earlier on Thursday. “We’re looking at all options.”
South Africa has been struggling with sluggish economic growth, high levels of poverty and unemployment, a persistent racial wealth divide, severe power shortages and political corruption.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the election outcome has created a complex situation for the ANC, which will have 159 of the 400 seats in the new National Assembly – down from 230 in 2019.
Observers say a coalition might be hard to pull off given radical differences between some groups that should be part of it.