Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto WeSizwe Party (MKP) reportedly rejected the governing African National Congress (ANC)’s invitation to form a coalition government.
ANC has been holding talks with several parties after it failed to win an outright majority vote during the 29 May 2024 National and Provincial elections, the first time in 30 years.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the party approached the MK Party as a matter of principle so that no one is excluded. She said:
We are holding meetings with delegations from Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Democratic Alliance (DA), National Freedom Party (NFP) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
The ANC has also had engagements with the South African Communist Party, Congress of South African Trade Unions, and South African National Civics Organisation as part of the consultations.
The ANC has started engagement with political parties in the country who have been meeting with all parties that are keen to contribute ideas on how to collectively move our country forward to form a government that ensures national unity and stability and a country that continues a transformation of South Africa and safeguards our constitutional democracy…
The ANC has repeatedly reached out to the MK party for an engagement with no positive response. Our door remains open as we continue to reach out to every party that is keen to contribute positively to moving our country forward.
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The ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) is set to meet this Thursday to decide on forming a “Government of National Unity” (GNU), which will include the EFF, or a Minority Government, with the DA, the IFP and other smaller parties.
According to News24, the proposed alliance between the DA and ANC has received tentative approval, with financial markets also giving it the nod.
However, ANC structures and its alliance partners are opposed to the idea, arguing that the official opposition is the ANC’s historic enemy.
The ANC is part of the Tripartite Alliance, which includes the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
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