(13 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cape Town, South Africa – 13 June 2024
1. Wide of leaders of the African National Congress (ANC) seated on stage
2. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa speaking
3. Pan of ANC’s National Executive Committee gathered
4. Wide of media briefing
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Fikile Mbalula, Secretary General of the African National Congress party:
"The ANC negotiations team has over the past week held multiple engagements with political parties who received seats in the seventh democratic parliament. The engagements also looked at the national dialogue that should lead to a social compact on the major challenges -unemployment, inequality, poverty- facing South Africa. The ANC is not yet in a position to give details in relation to these discussions which started with exploratory discussions."
6. Wide of briefing
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Fikile Mbalula, Secretary General of the African National Congress party:
"The ANC would like to work with as many political parties as possible. We have spoken to the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party), and also, they have agreed, to come to the party in terms of, the GNU (government of national unity). So that to us represent a major breakthrough. The question of the detail, of what happens tomorrow, it’s a matter that will be pronounced by the parties concerned."
8. Wide of briefing
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Fikile Mbalula, Secretary General of the African National Congress:
"Working in cooperation, it doesn’t mean that tomorrow you’ll become that party or that party becomes you. It means here is the moment you have lost power, and in losing that power, you need to work with others to achieve the result. But it doesn’t mean that you are going to die. We have never died in 1994 with 62%, will never die with 40%. Six million people want us to live and we are going to live. Living means pursuing the national democratic revolution and that is what is fundamental to us."
10. Mbalula leaving at end of briefing
STORYLINE:
South Africa’s African National Congress party said Thursday that it has a broad agreement with the main opposition and other parties to form a coalition government and end a political deadlock after the ANC lost its 30-year majority in an election two weeks ago.
The announcement came on the eve of the first sitting of South Africa’s new Parliament, when lawmakers will elect a president.
The ANC needs help from other parties to re-elect President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final term.
The ANC lost its long-held parliamentary majority in the May 29 vote.
ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula told reporters that the main opposition Democratic Alliance and others had agreed on the “fundamental” principle of forming a “government of national unity” with the ANC, but he noted that finer details of the agreement had not been finalized yet.
"So that to us represent a major breakthrough," he said.
Mbalula said the framework of the agreement would likely be made public on Friday.
A broad agreement was the first priority for the ANC to get Ramaphosa reelected with the help of others.
The negotiations faced a deadline to reach a general agreement because South Africa’s constitution dictates that Parliament has to sit for the first time and elect a president within 14 days of the national election results being officially declared.
The deadline is Sunday and Parliament was called to convene on Friday to meet that deadline.
One of the smaller parties, the Inkatha Freedom Party, had already announced Wednesday night that it would join the unity government.
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