African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the ruling party would not tolerate any demands and called for the removal of party leader Cyril Ramaphosa.
Briefing the media at the National Results Steering Centre in Midrand, Mbalula reiterated that coalition governments have not been effective in South Africa.
He says a coalition government would bring instability, but is open to talks with other parties because his party failed to win a majority.
Mbalula said the ANC would not accept anyone imposing conditions.
Regarding the coalition government: Demands that Ramaphosa should step down as ANC chairperson are not going to happen.#Election results pic.twitter.com/Q0f3GsAoqH
— ANC Secretary-General | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) June 2, 2024
“Ramaphosa is the chairperson of the ANC. Demanding Ramaphosa's resignation will not get that done. We are not going to negotiate with other parties who are not willing to talk to us. We are not going to do that. The MK party has a lot of concerns but if they want to work with us we will talk. No party can impose conditions on us. It is a no-go area for anyone. If you come to us with that demand, forget it.”
Meanwhile, Mbalula says the ruling party is open to negotiations with all parties.
The ANC is set to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since coming to power 30 years ago.
Mbalula said the ruling party was aware of the party's declining popularity.
“We are talking to everyone. We are being approached by political parties and that is normal. The results are clear. We will talk to everyone as no one has won a majority. Please do not distort the facts by saying we are talking to the DA, MK and EFF. We are talking to everyone as we did not win a majority in the elections. To those who do not want to talk, the talks will continue. We will hold an NEC meeting on Tuesday to announce the discussions on the talks.”
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