JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s ruling ANC said on Wednesday it had reached out to rivals to form a government of national unity, after failing to win an outright majority in last week’s general election.

The final tally gave President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress only 159 members in the 400-seat National Assembly, down from 230 and its lowest score in a general election.

ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told reporters the party had held “explorative” talks with several others, as it tries to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government and elect a president.

Its decision-making body was to meet on Thursday to vet all options, including trying to form a minority government, she said. But the conversation was focusing “on a government of national unity because this is what the people of South Africa said to us,” she said.

“We have been meeting with all parties that are keen to contribute ideas on how we can collectively move our country forward and form a government that ensures national unity and stability,” said Bhengu-Motsiri.

Among those consulted were parties with radically different agendas, such as the centre-right Democratic Alliance, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party.

Bhengu-Motsiri named the EFF, which supports land redistribution and the nationalisation of key economic sectors, and the anti-immigration Patriotic Alliance, as parties that so far appear willing to join.

Which groups would finally form part of such a broad-based government was, however, “a function of ongoing negotiations”, she said.

The ANC also “repeatedly” reached out to former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won 14.6 per cent of the vote, but received no response.

MK, which was only established late last year, has rejected the election results and threatened to boycott parliament.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2024