In the first seating of the South African Parliament today, the African National Congress (ANC) has signed a coalition agreement with the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) to be able to form government.
The ANC, South Africa’s ruling party for 30 years since 1994 lost its absolute majority in the legislature when it polled just 40% of the vote in the 2024 national and provincial elections two weeks ago.
The South African constitution requires the party that will form government to have at least 50 percent of valid votes. If no party gets 50%, the party with the most votes is given mandate to lead negotiations with other parties to form government.
The ANC was long predicted to lose its 50 percent share of the vote but not to the 40 percent mark. But on June 1, 2024, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared them majority party with only 40 percent.
The DA that sprouted out as the leading opposition party in 2000, and since 2004 has been the official opposition to the ANC.
With the emergence of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in 2013, pressure on the ANC’s rule has increased, as the EFF was the first opposition party to break away from the ANC and get national appeal.
But the formation of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in 2023 by former President Jacob Zuma has hurt the ANC most, after the former garnered more than 14 percent of the vote and occasioned negotiations for government in Southern Africa’s largest economy.
Second time
This is the second time in the ANC’s ruling history to share power. The first was 1994 when the first elections did not give Nelson Mandela’s party an absolute majority to change the constitution and rule alone.
Then, the ANC received 62 percent of the vote. The incumbent National Party (NP) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) among others shared government with the ANC.
