South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) says it has made progress in efforts to establish a national unity government after losing its outright majority in recent elections.
But the party’s secretary general Fikile Mbalula said the party is not yet ready to announce the details of an agreement.
The ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in thirty years in the May 29 elections, receiving 40% of the votes.
This means that President Cyril Ramaphosa needed the support of other parties to stay in power.
The new parliament will meet for the first time on Friday and is expected to vote for a president. Ramaphosa is expected to retain his seat.
“We are currently talking to political parties,” Mbalula told reporters after a meeting of the party’s top officials, adding that he could not provide further details.
He did say it would be a move towards the political center as breakaway ANC parties on the left have said they will not join.
He said parties, including the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA), had reached an agreement to form a national unity government.
But the ANC and DA have not yet agreed on exactly how they will work together, Mr Mbalula added.
“If the DA were to get some of these things he wants, it means the ANC will be dead,” he said.
The DA came second in the elections with 22% of the vote.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously accused the prosecutor – who draws his support mainly from racial minorities – of being “treacherous” and “reactionary”.
Any deal with the DA would be unpopular among many ANC activists.
The party is a proponent of a free market economy, which runs counter to the left-wing traditions of the ANC, and has a reputation for representing the interests of the white minority.
