South Africa’s newly elected parliament is set to convene on Friday for the unusual task of selecting the country’s next president, amid suspense over coalition alliances and future policy directions.
According to South Africa’s constitution, the National Assembly must convene within two weeks of the declaration of legislative elections to elect its speaker, deputy speaker, and the country’s president.
The African National Congress (ANC), which has governed since the end of apartheid in 1994, experienced a historic loss of its majority in the May 29 election and is now striving to forge a diverse coalition government.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the ANC, is poised to secure another term in office given the party’s majority, but he may need to negotiate substantial policy compromises with political opponents.
ANC officials stated that other parties, including the pro-business Democratic Alliance, its main rival, were willing to participate, though specific terms of the agreement remained unsettled as of Thursday evening.
The DA official, Helen Zille, mentioned on Friday that details were still being ironed out just half an hour before parliament was due to sit.
In the National Assembly, the ANC secured 159 seats, followed by the DA with 87 seats. The uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, holds 58 seats, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have 39 seats, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) holds 17 seats.