It includes rules for formulating policies and completing the national budget, as well as information on the executive decision-making process and a conflict-resolution system.
The accord will be released to the public and function as a draft of a more comprehensive deal that will be finalized during the following several weeks.
Together with the Inkatha Freedom Party, the African National Congress and Democratic Alliance have agreed to create a unity government. It is expected that President Cyril Ramaphosa will be reelected in South Africa.
The African National Congress (ANC), the biggest political party in South Africa, has apparently made an agreement to establish a unity government with its former adversaries.
On Friday, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) were said to have reached an agreement, according to reports in South African media.
Tony Leon, a former leader of the Democratic Alliance and member of the party’s negotiating team, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as claiming that an agreement to create a unity government is “pretty much there.”
“It’s going to happen,” he declared in response to tidings in the media that an agreement had been struck.
After losing its parliamentary majority in elections held more than two weeks ago, the ANC was forced to create a governing partnership, and talks on forming a coalition government had come down to the wire.
Out of 400 seats in the National Assembly, 159 were won by the ANC. The populist uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, received 58 seats, while the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) came in second with 87.
The action is being taken in conjunction with the first meeting of South Africa’s newly elected parliament on Friday, when indications from TimesLive and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) indicate that President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to be re-elected.
Coalition talks at the last minute
Discussions concerning a Government of National Unity were undertaken with opposition parties, according to ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.
A Government of National Unity was endorsed by the DA, the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and a number of smaller parties. (GNU).
The extreme leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), according to Mbalula, had declined to join what he continued to refer to as a unity government.
“We have engaged in exploratory discussions with the EFF, and we did not find each other on the issue of the GNU,” Mbalula told the press. “We have engaged with the DA, we agreed on the GNU with them.”
Mbalula stated that although the MK party contests the results of the May 29 election, the ANC will keep up its dialogue with them.
The party of Zuma has threatened to abstain from Friday’s proceedings.
The leaders of the MK and EFF were formerly part of the ANC; Julius Malema led the ANC Youth League for a while before being expelled from the organization, while Jacob Zuma led the ANC for ten years.
The first meeting of Parliament
The Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC), located less than two kilometers from the parliamentary building—which is undergoing major restorations following significant damage from a fire in January 2022—is hosting the first sitting of parliament.
Under the direction of Raymond Zondo, the nation’s Chief Justice, the members have been sworn in and taken the oath of office.
Floyd Shivambu, the lead whip for the EFF, asked for a 30-minute break “to consolidate their position” just before the procedure to choose a speaker and deputy speaker of parliament was scheduled to begin.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo appeared to be willing to accommodate the EFF by agreeing to a 15-minute comfort break.
The presidential election will take place after that procedure.
In order to validate his reelection, MPs will cast secret ballots, and Ramaphosa is predicted to win.
After that, the president would be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony in Pretoria, tentatively scheduled for June 19.
After that, the president will name his new cabinet of ministers, which will include representatives from both the coalition’s member parties and his own.
This report was prepared using material from Reuters and AFP.
