The South African parliament re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa, the African National Congress’s (ANC) President, as the President of South Africa on Friday during the first sitting of the National Assembly of the 7th Parliament.
In a post on X, the ANC announced Ramaphosa’s re-election, stating, “Honourable Matamela @CyrilRamaphosa has been re-elected as the President of the Republic of South Africa during the First Sitting of the National Assembly of the 7th Democratic Parliament tonight at Cape Town International Convention Centre.”
On Thursday, the ANC revealed that it has reached a broad agreement with the main opposition and other parties to form a coalition government, aiming to end a political deadlock after the ANC lost its 30-year majority in an election two weeks ago, as reported by a local news outlet.
The election took place on May 29, with 339 ballot papers issued and counted, and 12 ballots declared invalid. Ramaphosa secured 283 votes, while Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema received 44 votes, according to a South African news agency.
Ramaphosa was nominated for the presidency by ANC Member of Parliament Mdumiseni Ntuli and seconded by Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader and MP Velenkosini Hlabisa. The process was overseen by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
This marks Ramaphosa’s second term as South Africa’s president. He first took office on February 15, 2018, and was re-elected on May 22, 2019, following the 2019 elections.
Since the first democratic election in 1994, the ANC has been the dominant political force in South Africa. The country’s largest opposition party, the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA), is led by John Steenhuisen and was formed through a merger of the Democratic Party and the New National Party.