The historical arch-rivals in South Africa have agreed to form an "inclusive government".
The announcement from South Africa's re-elected president Cyril Ramaphosa means that the ANC's former dominance – which had lasted since the apartheid regime fell – is now broken.
After prolonged voting in South Africa's parliament in Cape Town, the ANC leader Ramaphosa was re-elected as president. However, it required the opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA) to back Ramaphosa – in exchange for the liberal DA entering government.
A few smaller parties are also expected to join the so-called unity government, which is intended to break the deadlock following the election at the end of May, including the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party.
Leaving conflicts behind
The ANC said it was ready to "set aside our political conflicts and find innovative ways to cooperate in the nation's interest".
The DA also left its conflicts behind and announced that it would join forces with the ANC:
From today, the DA will co-govern South Africa in a spirit of unity and cooperation, said the DA leader John Steenhuisen.
The previously unthinkable government formation, called the national unity government (NGU), is becoming a reality as the parties want to block the influence of extremist parties. The threat from the newly formed party MK, led by the former president and ANC's ousted party leader Jacob Zuma, was seen as serious. The party received nearly 15 per cent in the election, despite Zuma being convicted of crimes against the constitution and being banned by the court from participating in parliament.
The extreme left-wing party Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the hard-line politician Julius Malema, has announced that the party refuses to join a coalition with the DA.
High unemployment
South Africa's new government has extensive problems to solve. The infrastructure in parts of the country is collapsing, energy shortages and power outages are recurring, and unemployment is high, as is crime.
Equally serious is that the economic and social gaps between groups in society have not been bridged, which was the greatest goal of the country's founding father Nelson Mandela when he became the country's first democratically elected president in 1994.
After the feared, racist apartheid regime fell, ANC leader Nelson Mandela chose to form a unity government with, among others, representatives of the former enemy National Party to achieve a peaceful way forward for South Africa.
On Wednesday, 29 May, elections were held in South Africa's nine provinces. It was the seventh election since the fall of the apartheid system.
The parliament in Cape Town has 400 seats. The parliament elects the president.
In addition, there is a provincial council with 90 members, 10 from each province, elected by the provincial parliaments.
The African National Congress (ANC) received around 40 per cent of the votes. Thus, the party lost its 30-year parliamentary majority.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), received 22 per cent, and former President Jacob Zuma's party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) came third with 14.6 per cent.
Previously, the ANC has received between 60 and 70 per cent in all elections since 1994.
The voter turnout was 59 per cent, which is low for South Africa.
Source: Nationalencyklopedin
