African National Congress

South African parties await details of ANC unity government proposal

South African opposition parties said on Friday they were waiting for more details on a proposal by the African National Congress to form a government of national unity after it lost its majority for the first time in the democratic era. The former anti-apartheid liberation movement once led by Nelson Mandela has run South Africa since 1994. But voters, angered by years of economic stagnation, high unemployment and corruption, punished it at the ballot box on May 29. It remains the biggest par...

May 27, 2024 12:42 PM

South Africa: Leading Opposition party aims to stop ‘doomsday coalition’

On paper, South Africa's election this week should present a golden opportunity for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and its leader John Steenhuisen. The African National Congress (ANC) - the party of Nelson Mandela in power for the last 30 years - has little to boast about. The economy has barely grown in the last decade. The jobless rate is among the world's highest. Infrastructure is crumbling. The DA, the country's second biggest party, can point to an objectively better track r...