South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and deputy president Paul Mashatile attend a special African National Congress National Executive Committee meeting in Cape Town, South Africa June 13, 2024. REUTERSpix: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress said late Thursday that several political parties have shown interest in joining its proposed government of national unity, but did not divulge details, Anadolu Agency reported.
“The spirits of discussions were good. We are not going to retreat on the concept of government of national unity, because we believe the concept of national unity government to us represents the outcomes of the election. There was no outright majority and we are in no position to govern alone,“ Mbalula said, adding that agreements reached by parties on the government of national unity will be made public in the interest of transparency.
The party, which used to secure more than 60 per cent of votes in all elections since 1994, except in 2019, when its share dipped to 57.5 per cent, got only 40.18 per cent of the votes. This has put it in a difficult position to form a government on its own. Earlier this month, ANC party leader and head of state Cyril Ramaphosa said the party had agreed to form a government of national unity after losing its majority in the May 29 polls.