The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was sworn in this Wednesday 19 June for a second five-year term, after his party, the historic African National Congress (ANC), lost its absolute majority for the first time.
“The formation of a Government of National Unity is a moment of great significance. It is the beginning of a new era,” declared the 71-year-old head of state during his inauguration speech in the capital, Pretoria.
“I, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and that I will obey, observe and uphold the Constitution and all other laws of the Republic,” declared Ramaphosa as he took the oath of office before the head of South Africa’s judiciary, Judge Raymond Zondo.
With this swearing-in at the seat of the South African Executive, a new phase in the country’s history began, marked by an unprecedented government of national unity, the composition of which has yet to be revealed.
Cyril Ramaphosa was elected with 283 votes in the first session of Parliament, with the support of the opposition parties Democratic Alliance (DA), centre-right and liberal, and Inkatha Free Party (IFP), centre-left and Zulu nationalist, after a last-minute deal.
Although it was the most voted party in the elections held on 29 May, the seventh general elections in the country, the ANC continued its electoral decline, losing its absolute majority in parliament for the first time in 30 years, after obtaining 40.18% of the votes, electing 159 deputies to the National Assembly, 71 fewer seats than it had achieved in 2019, when it obtained 57.5% of the votes.
Ramaphosa’s inauguration marks the beginning of the formation of the Government of National Unity, which is expected to include members of two other parties – GOOD and the Patriotic Alliance (AP), the ruling party announced.
Source: Notícias ao Minuto
