President of the African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa (C) gestures after he was announced president after members of parliament voted during the first sitting of the New South African Parliament in Cape Town on June 14, 2024.
The African National Congress and its largest rival, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance, agreed on Friday to work together in South Africa's new government of national unity, a step change after 30 years of ANC rule.
Once unthinkable, the accord allowed President Cyril Ramaphosa to win a second term in office.
The deal between two sharply antagonistic parties is the most momentous political shift in South Africa since Nelson Mandela led the ANC to victory in the 1994 election that marked the end of apartheid.
The National Assembly had earlier elected a DA lawmaker as deputy speaker, after choosing an ANC politician as speaker - the first concrete instance of power sharing between the two parties.
Persons:
Cyril Ramaphosa, Nelson Mandela, John Steenhuisen, Long
Organizations:
African National Congress, New, Democratic Alliance, ANC, National Assembly
Locations:
African, Cape Town, South, South Africa