Conflict advisor and former politician, Roelf Meyer, says there are certain experiences and lessons to be learned from South Africa’s 1994to form a Government of National Unity. This after it failed to achieve a majority in the recent general elections.“We haven’t been in this kind of position before, because we can’t compare really what is now happening with what we established in 1994 with the Government of National Unity.
“Personally, I would’ve thought that we should’ve continued and proceeded with that arrangement after five years on a voluntary basis until think that was very much the exactions of South Africans at that time. So, the shortcomings that were hinted as a part of the decision to withdraw, in my view, was not sufficient and strong enough to pull out. The positive lesson we have had from that was that we had an arrangement with the ANC, the IFP that actually worked quite well.
Political analyst, Bheki Mngomezulu, on the other hand, says that in as much as the GNU is meant to bring as many parties as possible, the party with majority votes is not compelled to talk everyone. Political analyst Levy Ndou says the ANC appears to be indecisive on which parties to enter into a coalition with. This follows the party’s announcement that it would seek to form a government of national unity with a group of opposition parties.