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In the biggest shift in South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994, the long-ruling ANC won just 40% of the vote and no party won a majority. The ANC was forced to share power with other parties for the first time in South Africa’s 30 years of democracy, including the main opposition, the Democratic Alliance
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a new parliamentary term recently to mark the official start of his 11-party coalition government.
In his speech, Mr Ramaphosa outlined the new government’s priorities, which became clear after his once-dominant African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in elections on 29 May. Voters, driven by anger over sky-high levels of unemployment and inequality and the failing state of many basic public services, gave the ANC its worst result in a national election.
In the biggest shift in South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994, the long-ruling ANC won just 40% of the vote and no party won a majority. The ANC was forced to share power with other parties for the first time in South Africa’s 30 years of democracy, including the main opposition, the Democratic Alliance.
Ramaphosa will also face new opposition from former South African president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma, as well as a judge dismissed by Mr Ramaphosa in March for serious misconduct.
Zuma’s newly founded MK party surprisingly won the third largest share of the vote in its first election and was officially recognized by parliament’s rules committee this week as the official opposition as the largest party not in the governing coalition.
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With Zuma unable to sit in parliament, his party appointed former high court judge John Hlophe as its leader in the legislature. The high court judge was impeached by parliament and fired by Ramaphosa for trying to influence other judges in a case involving a corruption investigation into Zuma. Mr Ramaphosa’s coalition government is made up of 11 parties, seven of which are represented in his new cabinet.
