Addis Ababa, June 14, 2024 (FBC) – The South African ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, which has lost the parliamentary majority in recent elections, and the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party have reached an agreement to form a government of national unity, DA leader John Steenhuisen said on Friday.
“It is my privilege to report to you that, after two weeks of thorough negotiations that only concluded after today’s sitting of Parliament had already started, the DA has reached agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a Government of National Unity. Following the signing of this document by the leaders of the respective parties involved – including the DA, the IFP and the ANC – the DA will now enter national government, as well as provincial government in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal,” the party quoted its leader as saying in a post on X.
ANC Spokesman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri had previously announced that after losing the parliamentary majority, his party intends to form a coalition government.
The results of the South African general elections, held on May 29, were published on June 2. The ANC took 159 out of 400 seats in the national assembly of the country. The Democratic Alliance party came second with 87 seats. The uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MK Party) came third in terms of seats, winning only 58 seats in the national assembly.
Prior to the elections, the MK Party, led by former South African President Jacob Zuma, and at least 20 other parties accused the electoral commission of rigging the vote, according to Sputnik.