Following the 2024 South African general election on 29 May 2024, negotiations commenced on the formation of the next presidential cabinet.
While counting was ongoing, the ANC said that its leadership would meet on 31 May to "reflect on what is good for the country." The DA's John Steenhuisen said that the results showed that South Africa was "heading into coalition country" and expressed a willingness to work alongside the ANC, adding that he would have to first consult with other signatories of the Multi-Party Charter. [1] The DA also said that a government composed of the ANC, the MK, and the EFF would be a "doomsday coalition" pursuing previous policy failures in the country. The EFF's Julius Malema said that the election results marked the end of the ANC's "entitlement of being the sole dominant party", adding that he was open to talks with the ANC on forming a coalition government. The Patriotic Alliance's Gayton McKenzie compared prospects of an ANC-DA coalition to "a marriage of two drunk people in Las Vegas" that would prove "unworkable". [2]
Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's national chair, said that the party had started to conduct informal talks with other parties for a possible coalition. [3] On 2 June, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced the official opening of negotiations, [4] adding that the party had heard the popular will and was "humbled" by the election result. Mbalula also said that the ANC would reject conditions by other parties for Cyril Ramaphosa to step down as president. [5] In his first statement following the election later that day, Ramaphosa called on political parties to overcome their differences and find "common ground" in creating a coalition government. [6] Separate coalition talks were expected to occur regarding the provincial governments of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Northern Cape. [7] [8] [9]
On 4 June, the ANC released an internal document which advised for a coalition with both the DA and IFP. The document also stated that the ANC "should not consider" an alliance with either the EFF or the MK. [10] On 5 June, the ANC formally announced that it was seeking to create a national unity government, with spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri saying that the party had discussions with the DA, the EFF and three other smaller parties, but received no positive response from the MK. [11] [12] These discussions, which were still in the early stages, will continue, with the ANC framing them as an attempt to form a government of "national unity" and not just as an option for a formal coalition. [12] On 6 June, the MK confirmed that it was engaged in negotiations with the ANC. [13]
On 6 June, ActionSA announced they would leave the Multi-Party Charter as the party believed some member parties had breached the agreement by considering forming a coalition with the ANC. [14] This decision reduced the charter's seat count from 119 to 113 in the 400-seat National Assembly. [15] During coalition negotiations, the EFF sought the Minister of Finance position and ruled out cooperation with the DA. The MK sought the resignation of Ramaphosa. The DA sought to safeguard the independence of the South African Reserve Bank and the protection of property rights. The ANC ruled out the resignation of Ramaphosa, and statements made by Ramaphosa on the constitution, non-racialism, and the Operation Vulindlela economic initiative indicated a preference to cooperate with the DA over the EFF and MK. [16]
On 12 June, the IFP said that it was willing to join a unity government that included the ANC and the DA. [17]
On 13 June, the ANC announced that the DA and several other parties had agreed on the "fundamental" principle of forming the national unity government, with a framework to be disclosed on 14 June. [18] On 14 June, John Steenhuisen announced that the DA had entered into a coalition agreement with the ANC and provided its support for Ramaphosa's reelection as president. The Patriotic Alliance also provided its support. [19] This coalition agreement was also confirmed by ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, who described it as a "remarkable step." [20]
The "fundamental" principles of what was to become a grand coalition was set by a written agreement dated 17 June 2024 between ANC and DA, referred to as the Statement of Intent. [21]
On 10 June, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo declared that the first sitting of the new National Assembly would occur on 14 June, during which elections for parliamentary speaker and president would be held. [22] The session proceeded as scheduled, with the ANC's Thoko Didiza being elected parliamentary speaker after she defeated the Economic Freedom Fighters' Veronica Mente with 284 votes to 49. [23] [24] [25] The same day, the National Assembly would re-elect Ramaphosa President of South Africa after he defeated Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema with 283 votes to 54. [26] [27] The DA's Annelie Lotriet was elected Deputy Speaker after defeating the African Transformation Movement's Vuyo Zungula with 273 votes to 54. [28] Lotriet became the first non-ANC member to hold the position of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly since Bhadra Ranchod, [29] who served as Deputy Speaker between 1994 and 1996. [30]
On the same day, the ANC, the DA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA), agreed to form a national unity government, with Cyril Ramaphosa being re-elected President of South Africa. [20] [27] He was sworn in as president on 19 June while negotiations on the cabinet were ongoing.
In an interview on SABC News' Face the Nation current affairs programme, DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille said in reference to the Patriotic Alliance admission: "So you can't just let anybody come in without consulting with us and then he makes the appointments in consultation with the leaders of the parties who have been accepted for admission". [31] Zille specifically referred to Clause 17 of the Statement of Intent, which governs the President's powers in appointing an Executive. Clauses 18 and 19 of the statement deal with the concept of "sufficient consensus", which among other points, only exists when "parties to the GNU representing 60% of the seats in the National Assembly agree". [21]
Other parties to join the national unity government are GOOD, shortly after the first sitting of parliament, the PAC, on the 19th, and the FF+ on the 20th of June. The UDM decided to join on the 21st, Rise Mzansi on the 22nd, Al Jama-ah on the 23rd, and UAT on the 30th of June 2024. [32] [33] This brought the GNU to 288 seats in the 400 seat parliament (72%).
The DA reportedly requested 10 posts in the cabinet, including the ministries of Communication and digital technology, Trade and industry, Transport, Public service and administration, Water and sanitation, Local government and Health, as well as deputy minister posts of finance and health. In addition, the DA requested that John Steenhuisen be designated as deputy president over ANC incumbent Paul Mashatile. The ANC rejected most of the requests on the grounds of multiple other parties joining the coalition negotiations, instead agreeing to up to five cabinet positions for the DA. The DA's negotiators, including Steenhuisen and Tony Leon, considered withdrawing, but instead agreed to keep negotiations open with the ANC. [34] [35]
On June 30, Ramaphosa announced the composition of the initial 32-minister cabinet, with the DA being accorded six ministries (with Steenhuisen being accorded Agriculture), IFP accorded 2 (with leader Velenkosini Hlabisa being accorded Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs), and one each to the party leaders of FF+ (Correctional Services), PA (Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture), PAC (Land Reform and Rural Development) and GOOD (Tourism). [32] [33] In addition, 42 deputy ministers were named from among the coalition parties.
The Democratic Alliance is a South African political party which is a part of the current South African Government of National Unity (GNU) together with the African National Congress (ANC), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and several others. The party is broadly centrist, and has been attributed both centre-left and centre-right policies. It is a member of Liberal International and the Africa Liberal Network. The DA traces its roots to the founding of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party in 1959, with many mergers and name changes between that time and the present. The DA has a variety of ideologically liberal tendencies, including neoliberalism, social liberalism, classical liberalism, and conservative liberalism.
The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation system where half of the members are elected proportionally from nine provincial lists and the remaining half from national lists so as to restore proportionality.
South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Children born during this period are known as the born-free generation, and those aged eighteen or older, were able to vote for the first time in 2014.
Annelie Lotriet is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa since June 2024. She has served in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since she joined the National Assembly in 2009. She is also a Deputy Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Council.
John Henry Steenhuisen is a South African politician who is currently serving as Minister of Agriculture since June 2024. He has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He was the twentieth leader of the Opposition from October 2019 to June 2024. Pursuant to the 2024 South African general election, he was appointed to the third cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa when the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).
General elections were held in South Africa on 7 May 2014, to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election held in South Africa under conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994, and also the first held since the death of Nelson Mandela. It was also the first time that South African expatriates were allowed to vote in a South African national election.
The 26th South African Parliament was the fifth Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 7 May 2014 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members. Members of Parliament were sworn in on 21 May 2014. The 26th parliament first convened on 21 May 2014 to elect Jacob Zuma as the fifth democratically elected President of South Africa. It was formally opened by president Zuma's State of the Nation Address in a joint sitting on 17 June 2014.
The 2016 South African municipal elections were held on 3 August 2016, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It was the fifth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994; municipal elections are held every five years.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga is a South African politician who is serving as the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities since 2024. A member of the African National Congress, she has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2004. Chikunga had previously served as Deputy Minister of Transport twice, from 2012 to 2019 and again from 2021 to 2023, as Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2019 until 2021, and as Minister of Transport from 2023 to 2024. She is a midwife by profession.
The 27th South African Parliament was the sixth Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 8 May 2019 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members. It was formally opened by President Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address in a joint sitting on 20 June 2019.
The Second Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa was the cabinet of the government of South Africa between 29 May 2019 and 19 June 2024. It was formed by President Ramaphosa after the 2019 general election and dissolved after the 2024 general election. In the interim it was reshuffled twice – once in August 2021 and once in March 2023 – and augmented in size from 28 ministers to 30 ministers.
The 2021 South African municipal elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It is the sixth municipal election held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, held every five years. The previous municipal elections were held in 2016. On 21 April 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the elections will be held on Wednesday, 27 October 2021. It had been recommend by Dikgang Moseneke to delay the municipal elections until 2022. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) requested the Constitutional Court to support the date postponement. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supported the date postponement while the Democratic Alliance (DA) was against the postponement of the date. The Constitutional Court dismissed the application to postpone the date until 2022, ruling that they had to take place between 27 October and 1 November. On 9 September 2021, the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced that the elections would be held on 1 November.
General elections were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. This was the 7th general election held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. The new National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature.
The Multi-Party Charter (MPC), officially the Multi-Party Charter For South Africa (MPCSA), formerly known as the Moonshot Pact, is a pre-election agreement in South Africa that presents a united front in the 2024 South African general election against the three-decade rule of the African National Congress (ANC) and the recent rise of the controversial Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), uMkhonto we Sizwe and Patriotic Alliance (PA).
Events in the year 2024 in South Africa.
The 2024 Gauteng provincial election was held on 29 May 2024, concurrently with the 2024 South African general election, to elect the 73 members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
The 2024 KwaZulu-Natal provincial election was held on 29 May 2024, concurrently with the 2024 South African general election, to elect the 80 members of the 7th KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. The new MK party flipped KwaZulu Natal from the ANC, earning 37 out of 80 seats to gain a plurality. Conversely, the ANC itself plummeted to the third place, losing its majority in the legislature for the first time since 2004.
The 28th South African Parliament is the seventh Parliament of South Africa to convene since the introduction of non-racial government in South Africa in 1994. It was elected in the general election of 29 May 2024 and consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly contains 400 members, while the National Council of Provinces contains 90 members.
The Third Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa, also self-described as a "Government of National Unity" (GNU), was formed following the election of Ramaphosa to a second full term as President of South Africa following the 2024 general election. His party, the African National Congress (ANC), lost its absolute majority in the parliamentary election and was reduced to a plurality in the National Assembly. Following the election, the parties engaged in negotiations on forming a coalition government. On 14 June 2024, the ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Good, agreed to form a landmark national unity government, with Cyril Ramaphosa being re-elected President of South Africa. This marks the first time the ANC has had to govern without an absolute majority since the end of apartheid in 1994.
ActionSA's Senate has deliberated on our relationship with other political parties going forward. This process has resolved that ActionSA will leave the Multi-Party Charter because of the serious breach by those parties who publicly signed and campaigned under an agreement which expressly ruled out working relationships with the ANC.