Trolley
Prices: PMBEJD Household Affordability Index, September 2026 · See full basket →
Politics

Five things to know about the GNU

Cyril en John
By
S N
3 Min Read
LANGUAGE:

With no single party securing a clear majority through the ballot, South Africa is destined to be run by a coalition government.

So far, President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose party won the biggest share of the vote, has announced plans to form a Government of National Unity.

In an ideal world, this would be a government of common purpose made up of the main parties in parliament.

Here is a reminder of the election results: ANC (40.18%), DA (21.81%), MK (14.58%), EFF (9.52%), IFP (3.85%) and the PA (2.06%).

Based on Scrolla.Africa reporting, these are the five important things to know about the GNU process so far:

  1. Ramaphosa announces the GNU on Thursday night and left the door open for all parties to engage the ANC. (https://scrolla.africa/countdown-begins-as-anc-goes-for-government-of-national-unity/)
  2. The DA and EFF are at each other’s throats, saying they will not work together. (https://scrolla.africa/eff-rejects-the-government-of-national-unity/)
  3. Ramaphosa outlines guidelines for joining the jamboree and signals that anti-Constitution parties like MK may not be attractive partners. (https://scrolla.africa/anc-sets-out-conditions-for-parties-to-join-gnu/) 
  4. Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie is only interested in being Minister of Home Affairs. (https://scrolla.africa/all-i-want-is-the-department-of-home-affairs-mckenzie/)
  5. Jacob Zuma is finally taking calls from Luthuli House and agrees that the ANC delegation can meet with an MK delegation to discuss the GNU. (https://scrolla.africa/zuma-finally-agrees-to-coalition-talks-with-the-anc/)

There is no date for the president’s election in parliament because Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has not yet announced a date for the first sitting of the seventh administration.

By law, the president should be inaugurated within five days after being elected by parliament.

President Nelson Mandela once invited IFP founder Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi to his GNU, along with National Party president FW de Klerk.

Ramaphosa will have a tough time bringing the DA, MK and EFF under one roof. But as the late Robert Mugabe used to say: “It’s better to have them inside pissing out than outside pissing in.”

Pictured above: President Cyril Ramaphosa and DA leader John Steenhuisen share a moment in parliament.

Source: X

Popular