The ruling party of South Africa, the ANC, lost its absolute majority in the parliamentary election.
The arch-rival, the DA party, is expected to be one of the coalition parties in the country's new government. This means that extreme parties will be excluded from government power.
The news of a breakthrough in the negotiations came late on Thursday from the ANC's party secretary, Fikile Mbalula, at a press conference in Cape Town.
Mbalula said that talks had been held with all parties.
Only a few (parties) do not support a coalition government, said Mbalula, who nevertheless confirmed that sufficient support existed for government formation, according to the South African media company IOL.
Broad Government
He did not, however, want to reveal exact details about the distribution of power, but confirmed that the parties Democratic Alliance (DA), the nationalist party, and the former liberation movement Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP), the left-wing party UDM, and the right-wing party Afrikaner Freedom Front Plus (FF+) are expected to join the coalition government.
Thus, the negotiations were completed within the timeframe set in South Africa after an election.
The newly formed party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), led by the controversial former president Jacob Zuma, will be excluded from the government. MK will, in turn, boycott the opening of parliament on Friday when a new president is elected.
The formerly banned movement ANC has been the governing party since the first democratic election in 1994. But the May election was a setback for the ANC and the sitting president Cyril Ramaphosa, as support only reached just over 40 per cent.
New Territory
Thus, new territory may be broken. The ANC appears to be opening the door to cooperation with the DA, a liberal party that has stood in constant opposition in democratic South Africa.
The DA, led by John Steenhuisen, received nearly 22 per cent in the election.
The purpose of the cooperation is for the ANC to avoid influence from the extreme groups that previously belonged to the party – partly led by Jacob Zuma, whose party MK received nearly 15 per cent in the election.
Zuma is not allowed to participate in parliament following a court ruling. The former president and ANC leader is, among other things, convicted of crimes against the constitution. But Zuma has promised to take up the political fight against a coalition government in an increasingly polarised and fragmented South Africa.
