PeakNews Online
Pretoria, June 19, 2024 – Cyril Ramaphosa has been inaugurated for a second term as President of South Africa, despite his African National Congress (ANC) failing to secure a majority in last month’s parliamentary elections.
The swearing-in ceremony, attended by numerous African dignitaries and heads of state, featured music and artistic performances, a 21-gun salute, military fly-bys, and a march past by the country’s defense forces. The event was declared a normal working day by the presidency.
Ramaphosa’s re-election followed a coalition deal between the ANC, its long-time rival Democratic Alliance (DA), and other parties after the May 29 election yielded no outright winner. The ANC, which has governed since the end of apartheid in 1994, lost its majority for the first time, securing only 40% of the vote. The DA garnered 22%, with the new coalition accounting for 68% of parliamentary seats.
Former President Jacob Zuma’s recently formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won 15% of the vote and 58 parliamentary seats, boycotted the inauguration and parliament’s first sitting last Friday, calling the event “farcical.”
Despite a 17 percentage point drop in the ANC’s vote and the loss of 70 seats in parliament, Ramaphosa retained the presidency through a power-sharing agreement with the pro-business DA and other smaller parties, marking a shift towards the political center. Left-wing and populist breakaway parties from the ANC declined to join the coalition government.
In his upcoming term, President Ramaphosa is expected to appoint a cabinet that includes members of the new coalition. He has pledged to set an agenda aimed at rescuing the struggling economy, which has been plagued by power cuts, rising crime, and high unemployment rates.
Ramaphosa first assumed the presidency in 2018 after Jacob Zuma was forced to resign amid corruption allegations, which Zuma has denied. As Ramaphosa begins his second term, all eyes are on his plans to address South Africa’s economic challenges and stabilize the nation’s governance.
