Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to work with all parties in Parliament following his re-election as the president of the seventh administration of the Republic of South Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday night.
In a speech that went on past midnight following a marathon sitting of the National Assembly, Ramaphosa said he accepted the “big responsibility” of leading the country and called on South Africans to work together, reported IOL. He said:
Your messages are a clear clarion call for working together. Your messages constitute what I see as a well of encouragement, of good advice, and of wisdom.
I want to thank the members of this august house who have voted for me, who, through their votes, have invested and placed their trust in me.
I intend to work with all members and indeed to work together with even those who did not vote for me.
We are all South Africans, and I want to serve all and work with even those who did not support me tonight.
It’s not so much the result of the vote that was delivered, but the historic meaning of the vote and this moment that we find ourselves in that is truly significant.
That a number of parties that had opposed each other but represented the majority of South Africans have decided to work together to deliver this result has given birth to a new era for our country.
I do sincerely believe that. This is an era of hope. And it’s also an era of inclusivity, as diverse political parties who competed against each other in the election we just had.
In the election of the president, Ramaphosa defeated his challenger, EFF leader, Julius Malema by 283 votes to 44 with the help of his partners in the newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU).
The African National Congress (ANC)’s coalition partners include the Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the National Freedom Party, the Patriotic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus.
Ramaphosa said the results of the general elections on May 29 made it clear that South Africans wanted the leaders of the country to work together. He said:
They expect the parties for which they voted to find common ground, to overcome their differences, to act and work together for the good of everyone in our country.
The stark reality of the results of our past election is that no single party represented in this house achieved an outright majority to work alone, legislatively and also at the executive level.
Through their votes, our people expect all parties to work together within the framework of our Constitution and to work as political parties to achieve the objectives of a democratic society based on non-racialism, non-sexism, peace, and justice, to ensure stability and to tackle the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality, and to achieve prosperity for all.
Ramaphosa also rejected criticism that the incoming administration was not a government of national unity but a “grand coalition between the ANC and DA.” He said:
I wish to state very clearly this is not a grand coalition of two or three parties. It is a government of national unity that we are constituting, and we’ve been here before. We were here in 1994 when we sought to unite our country and effect reconciliation.
We are here now, as directed by the votes that our people delivered, to work together to ensure that we address the challenges that they face.
Malema said the ANC-DA coalition was “a marriage that seeks to undermine the changing of property relations in South Africa”. He said:
We refuse to sell out. We have never done so when we were young, and we’re not going to do so today. We don’t have a history of being collaborators.
We are going to ensure that this parliament is functional. We can reassure you that will not fight with any bouncers.
We’re going to be the best and most effective opposition that is going to ensure that both you and the DA are held accountable.
This is not a government of national unity. This is a grand coalition between the ANC and the white monopoly capital. History will judge you and judge you harshly.
Earlier on Friday, the ANC’s Thoko Didiza was elected Speaker of the National Assembly after beating EFF’s Veronica Mente by 284 votes to 49 in an election that was presided over by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Didiza then presided over the election of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, with the DA’s Annelie Lotriet emerging victorious.
Lotriet beat the African Transformation Movement (ATM)’s Vuyo Zungula by 273 votes to 54 as part of an agreement with the ANC to form a Government of National Unity.
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