The South African Parliament elected the president this Friday Cyril Ramaphosa for a second five-year term in its first session following the May 29 general elections, in which the African National Congress (ANC) lost its absolute majority for the first time in thirty years.
A total of 283 MPs, out of the 339 who voted, voted in favor of Ramaphosa to form a coalition government unprecedented since 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the leader of the ANC (centre-left) and the country’s first black president after the elections. . elections that put an end to the segregationist “apartheid” regime (1948-1994).
Ramaphosa, South Africa’s fifth president, won the vote over the other nominee, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF, extreme left and the country’s fourth party), Julius Malema, 43 years old.
Malema has won the support of 44 lawmakers since 12 votes were declared invalid after a session that lasted more than 12 hours, including protocol and meal breaks.
The vote came after John Steenhuisen, the leader of the main opposition party, the center-right liberal Democratic Alliance (AD), said in a message to the nation that he had reached an agreement with Ramaphosa’s party for a “government of National Unity”. (GUN)”.
The pact, which also includes the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP, conservative and nationalist from the Zulu ethnic group), marks “the beginning of a new chapter for our beloved country”, according to the opposition leader.
“From today onwards, the AD will co-govern the Republic of South Africa, in a spirit of unity and collaboration”, he highlighted.
Before this message was issued, the session of the National Assembly (Lower House), which took place at the International Convention Center in Cape Town (southwest), seat of the Legislative Branch, was marked by uncertainty about the success of the election. Ramaphosa, as the ANC won just 159 out of 400 seats in the May 29 elections.
The ANC achieved its worst result in 30 years, but won the country’s seventh general elections with 40.20% of the vote, while the AD, heir to the white political leadership that opposed “apartheid” (1948-1994), obtained 21.81% of the votes. the votes and 87 seats.
Lawmakers also elected the new president of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza of the ANC, and deputy speaker of the Lower House, Annelie Lotriet of the AD, placing a party member in that role for the first time in 30 years.
After playing an important role in the negotiations that allowed the dismantling of “apartheid”, being a union leader and prospering in the private sector, Ramaphosa came to the Presidency in 2018 with the promise of change to end the corruption that tarnished his mandate. predecessor, Jacob Zuma (2009-2018).
However, its popularity declined due to the persistence of problems such as unemployment (32.9%), crime, the energy crisis with constant blackouts and the extreme inequality that still weighs on the black population.
Furthermore, in the last elections, he had to face Zuma’s new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK Party).
The MK Party entered its first general elections with almost 14.60% of the votes (58 seats) and tried, unsuccessfully, to challenge the holding of the first parliamentary session this Friday in court, although its parliamentarians boycotted the event .
Source: Elcomercio
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