The news
JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s two largest parties remain locked in negotiations over the composition of a cabinet for their historic coalition government after signs of tension emerged.
President Cyril Ramaphosawho heads the African National Congress, and leader of the Democratic Alliance Johannes Steenhuisen held talks on Monday, their second meeting in three days. Party leaders are working to hammer out an agreement between their two parties — historically rivals in South Africa’s legislature.
The public prosecutor has said that it wants eleven ministers and that Steenhuisen will become Ramaohosa’s vice president.
Two leaked letters, one from the federal chairman of the DA Helen Zille to ANC secretary Fikile Mbalula, and a counter-salvo from Mbalula, created an image of warring partners experiencing their first serious public disagreement.
Zille emphasized that power should be divided in proportion to the number of votes of each party in the May 29 elections. Her party claimed 22% compared to the ANC’s 40%.
Two ANC officials told Semafor Africa that their party was against disclosing the number of cabinet positions sought by Zille. Ramaphosa asked the prosecutor to provide six names that would be considered for inclusion in the cabinet, which is expected to consist of 28 people, the sources said.
Step back
The ANC was forced to form a coalition government after failing to win a simple majority in South Africa’s elections last month. The poor electoral performance ended thirty years of majority control of the national parliament after the end of apartheid.
The centre-right DA, widely seen as a predominantly white party, won the second-largest share of the vote in the election. Smaller parties that agreed to join the coalition include the Inkatha Freedom Party, an ethnic Zulu party, and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance.
Remarkable
-
The power-sharing agreement has “unwittingly revived some racial divisions,” the Associated Press reports.
-
The DA suspended one of its MPs after an old video of him using racist language resurfaced online.
