Cyril Ramaphosa Re-elected for Second Term as President in South Africa

It’s Ramaphosa’s 2.0 in South Africa as lawmakers re-elected him for a second term to run the government. In the last session, a dramatic coalition deal with his political rival and main opposition party DA (Democratic Alliance), led by white minorities and some other small regional parties, was finalized.

For the first time since Nelson Mandela, South Africa is having a coalition government, as the single largest party ANC made a last-minute agreement with DA, effectively ensuring Ramaphosa stays as the leader of the South African nation.

Earlier on May 29, election results showed that for the first time ANC’s vote percentage slashed to 40%, while the main opposition party DA got 21% of the vote, and former president Jacob Zuma’s party got 14% of the votes.

Zuma’s party also contested the election for the first time. Late-night negotiations and an eleventh-hour agreement set the stage for the formation of the first-ever coalition government in South Africa.

Ramaphosa, the leader of the African National Congress, won convincingly in Parliament against a surprise candidate who was also nominated — Julius Malema of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters. Ramaphosa received 283 votes to Malema’s 44 in the 400-member house. It is also a huge opportunity for the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has been the main opposition party of South Africa for decades, to show some governing skills along with Ramaphosa’s style of leadership. It was never imagined that both parties could come together to form a government.

The last time they negotiated with the ANC was in 1996 when they had 62% support, as said by DA leader Tony Leon to Al Jazeera.

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