Cyril Ramaphosa has been re-elected as President of South Africa and will serve a second term.
Ramaphosa was elected with 283 votes against Economic Freedom Fighters Julius Malema with 44 votes, during the National Assembly (NA) first sitting of the 7th Parliament in Cape Town.
This after he was nominated by new ANC Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, while United Democratic Movement Deputy President, Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, nominated Malema.
Ramaphosa’s retention of his position is widely linked to a last-minute political deal after the ANC entered a Government of National Unity with the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, Patriotic Alliance, and possibly other smaller parties.
“We as political parties that participated in the elections, that received seats that we occupy, need to pledge to cooperate to work together in two ways.
As a voluntary parliament of national unity, and through a voluntary government of national unity.
A number of parties have come together to form agree on a statement on intent, to form a Government of National Unity.
And this Government of National Unity, will be constituted not by two, three, but by more parties that voluntarily want to participate.
This is not a grand coalition of two or three parties, it is a GNU that we’re constituting,” said Ramaphosa.
He sought to assure parliamentarians that this is not the first time that the country finds itself in such a position, that it was in a similar situation in 1994 when the then leaders sought to unite the country and to effect reconciliation.
The President-Elect will be sworn in by the Chief Justice Raymond Zondo during the Presidential Inauguration to be held on 19 June at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
Once the President has taken the oath of office, he will proceed to form a cabinet, selecting ministers who will head various government departments and execute the administration’s policies.
He will then convene a joint sitting of the newly established National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces for the Opening of Parliament Address (OPA).
Meanwhile, former Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development Minister during the Sixth Parliament, Thoko Didiza, was elected as the NA Speaker.
She defeated the EFF’s Veronica Mente for the position after Menter received 49 votes, while Didiza was elected with 284 votes.
The DA’s Dr. Annelie Lotriet was elected as the Deputy Speaker by 273 votes against the President of African Transformation Movement, Vuyo Zungula, who received 54 votes.
