South African lawmakers are set to elect the president on Friday after their swearing-in at the first parliamentary session. This meeting will unveil the unity government formed by the African National Congress (ANC) following its first loss of majority since 1994.
During this session, lawmakers will also choose the new speaker and deputy speaker, influenced by the ANC’s negotiations with opposition parties post-election. Parties face a Thursday deadline to finalize agreements, meeting the constitutional requirement to swear in lawmakers and elect a president within 14 days of the election results.
The ANC secured 40% of the national vote in the recent, highly contested elections, followed by the Democratic Alliance with just over 21% and the newly established uMkhonto weSizwe Party with around 15%.
Rather than forming a traditional coalition with a few parties, the ANC has decided to establish a national unity government, including most political parties that participated in the elections. However, initial negotiations have exposed deep divisions, with some parties rejecting the unity government while others have agreed to join.
On Thursday, the ANC’s national executive committee will meet in Cape Town to finalize agreements with other parties and will make an announcement afterward. The Inkatha Freedom Party, the fifth-largest party with 3.85% of the vote, confirmed on Wednesday that it will join the ANC-led national unity government. They have also begun coalition talks with the ANC and Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal, where the MK Party received the most votes.
IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa stated, “We will participate in the government of national unity for the sake of our country and our people, who want a stable government to address their challenges.”
Despite its strong showing in its first election, the MK Party has refused to join the unity government and sought to halt the parliamentary session. However, the Constitutional Court dismissed their application on Thursday, allowing the session to proceed. The MK Party continues to dispute the election results, alleging widespread vote-rigging, and its 58 elected lawmakers will boycott the session.
According to South Africa’s constitution, only one-third of the 400 lawmakers need to be present for a quorum and to proceed with the presidential vote. The independent electoral commission and observers have declared the elections free and fair.
As Thursday’s deadline approaches, a significant rift between the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party, and the Economic Freedom Fighters, the fourth-largest party, remains a key issue. The EFF has stated it will not join any arrangement involving the centrist Democratic Alliance, accusing them of being anti-Black and opposing policies addressing past injustices, such as black economic empowerment and land redistribution. The DA, considering the EFF its main rival, remains ideologically opposed.
This animosity suggests that the ANC might form a national unity government without the EFF and MK Party, a scenario that could also occur in provincial coalition governments, where the ANC has also lost its majority in several regions.
