The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on the country’s political parties to work together.
The African National Congress (ANC) received more than 40% of the vote, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with nearly 22% of the vote.
Ramaphosa stated that the election results reflect the will of the people of South Africa.
Over 16 million people participated in the voting in South Africa.
Currently, the DA has formed a team of senior members to begin coalition talks with other parties.
The DA leader, John Steenhuisen, said the party’s leadership has agreed on how to approach coalition negotiations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will remain in office until a new president is elected by the parliament.
The election of the country’s president will take place in parliament at its first session, which will be presided over by the Chief Justice.
According to Section 88, subsection 1 of the South African Constitution, the term of office for the president begins when the parliament elects them and ends when another person is elected as president.
This means Ramaphosa remains president until someone else is elected by the parliament to take over the role.
Similarly, Section 94 of the Constitution, which outlines the continuation of ministers in their roles after elections, states:
“After the election of the National Assembly, the Cabinet and the Deputy President shall continue to function until the person elected as President by the next National Assembly assumes office.”
The ruling ANC has secured 159 seats in the National Assembly.
The president must be elected from the party that secures more than half of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.
For this reason, the ANC will need to form coalitions with other parties to govern the country effectively.