ANC spokesperson Malengi Bhengu Motsili briefs the media at Luthuli House on June 5, 2024. The ANC will work with other major parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Patriotic Alliance (PA), to form a government of national unity. (Photo by Per Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
TThe ANC's national executive committee (NEC) is due to decide on Thursday which parties it will form a coalition government with after the elections.
This follows the first round of talks between the party and other political parties.
The party currently supports the idea of forming a national unity government but has not yet decided which of the three options under consideration will be its final form of government for the next five years.
The ANC held a series of exploratory meetings with other parties on Monday, days after accepting the results of national and provincial elections in which it lost a majority of seats nationwide and in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Northern Cape.
He has previously met with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Democratic Alliance (DA), National Freedom Party (NFP) and Patriotic Alliance (PA) and attempted to open talks with the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party but failed.
Speaking to reporters at Luthuli House on Wednesday, ANC spokesperson Malengi Bhengu Motsili said the party's national executive held initial talks with other parties on Monday.
The next day they reported to the National Working Committee and considered several proposals for what form the coalition should take nationally and in each state and who its partners should be.
The proposals include working with the DA in various ways, but there are lobbying groups within the ANC that oppose this and argue that the party should instead work with the EFF and even the MK Party.
Responding to a question, Bhengu-Mthosili said a national unity government would probably be formed because “the South African people want us to form a multiparty government”.
“Which parties ultimately participate is the subject of ongoing negotiations,” she said.
She said the ANC had reached out to “literally everyone” and would “continue to reach out to everyone in a very short time frame”.
This meant not just talking to “like-minded parties” but “engaging with everyone on the basis of our values, principles and policy positions.”
“The ANC has made multiple offers to negotiate with the MK party but has not received a positive response. The door remains open as we will continue to reach out to any political party keen to contribute positively to the country's progress,” Bhengu Motsili said.
She said the ANC was working to forge a national consensus on the best form of government to take South Africa forward.
It would “involve all political parties and unite the broadest sections of the population around the urgent need to move the country out of the current potential electoral deadlock.”
The party hoped to maintain stability and national unity in order to form a government that would “expeditiously” address South Africa's pressing socio-economic problems.
“I believe that if we come together as South Africans, whatever our differences may be, we can seize this moment and lead our country into a new era of hope,” she said.
Bhengu Motsili said the ANC “remains committed to ensuring that a national consensus is built to avoid uncertainty that could lead to destabilisation”.
The party will not abandon its principles or commitment to change and will work with partners who believe in constitutionalism.
She said the NEC “comes with a clear commitment” and would consult with NEC members, allies, civil society and countries “about our views on immediate next steps and the future”.
The party is due to announce its candidates next week for premiership in states where it has a majority or is likely to lead a coalition government, ahead of state legislatures convening on June 17-18.
Bhengu Motsiri said two out of three candidates in each state were women and that interviews would conclude in the next few days.