JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African lawmakers are set to be sworn in at parliament's first meeting and elect the country's president on Friday, a meeting that will also reveal what kind of president they will have. Unity Government The ruling African National Congress managed to secure a handful of seats after losing its majority. First time since 1994.
Lawmakers will also elect a new speaker and deputy speaker of parliament, with the selection determined by negotiations that have been taking place between the ANC and opposition parties since the country's election results were announced about two weeks ago.
Parties are under pressure to complete negotiations by Thursday to meet a constitutional requirement that lawmakers be sworn in and a president chosen within 14 days of the announcement of election results.
The African National Congress won 40 percent of the national vote in the country's hotly contested general election, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with just over 21 percent and the newly formed Umkhonto we'Sizwe party with around 15 percent of the vote in its first general election.
The ANC chose to form a national unity government including most of the parties that stood in the election, rather than a simple coalition with a few other parties.
But early negotiations have revealed deep divisions among South Africa's political parties, with some already rejecting the idea of a unity government while others have agreed to join it.
The ANC's national executive committee, the party's highest inter-conference decision-making body, is meeting in Cape Town on Thursday to finalise the terms of the agreement with other parties, which is due to be announced later.
On Wednesday, the fifth-largest party, the Inkatha Freedom Party, with 3.85% of the vote, decided to join the Government of National Unity The ANC will take the lead.
In KwaZulu-Natal province, where MK won the most votes, it also announced it had begun negotiations to form a coalition government with the ANC and DA.
“We will join the national unity government for the sake of our country and our people who want to continue living under a stable government that tackles challenges,” said IFP president Berenkosini Hlabisa.
The MK Party, which was formed only six months ago, put in an impressive performance and arguably won the biggest election victory of all, but refused to join a unity government. Disrupt the progress of the meeting.
The Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected the party's plea to stop the Chief Justice from convening the first session and allowed the session to continue.
The party continues to contest the election results, alleging widespread voter fraud, and has said its 58 elected members will boycott the conference.
The South African constitution stipulates that only one-third of the 400 members of parliament need to be present to constitute a quorum for voting to select the president to proceed.
South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission and independent observers declared the election free and fair.
As the deadline to reach an agreement approaches on Thursday, the rift between the DA and the fourth-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), appears to be one of the main sticking points.
The left-leaning EFF has said it will not take part in any deal involving the centrist DA, which it accuses of being racist and opposing policies that would address South Africa's past injustices, such as black economic empowerment and land redistribution.
The two parties remain ideologically at odds, with the DA declaring the EFF its main rival last year.
The hostility between the two parties means the ANC may have to form a national unity government that does not include the EFF and MK, which could be repeated in provincial coalition governments, where the ANC has also failed to maintain majorities in several provinces.
