June 05, 2024 10:51 GMT
SOUTH AFRICA: ANC Confirms Talks w/ DA, EFF & Others
SOUTH AFRICA
The ANC is holding a press briefing regarding the latest negotiations on the formation of a coalition gov't following the 29 May general election. Says talks have taken place with the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA), the extreme-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the right-wing anti-immigration Patriotic Alliance (PA), the regionalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and others smaller parties. Says that the ANC has reached out to the Jacob Zuma-led MK party, to no positive response. Livestream of briefing can be found here.
- Says the ANC 'is driven by a need to put in place a gov't that will move at speed...and the imperative to maintain national unity'.
- The confirmation of talks with a broad range of parties was reported earlier (see 'SOUTH AFRICA: ANC To Recommend Formation Of National Unity Gov't-IOL' 1059BST)
- The prospect of a gov't involving both the DA and EFF proving stable is extremely slim. While each could see the opportunity of going into the national gov't for the first time as too good a chance to pass up, they sit on different ends of the political spectrum and there is a long-standing deep animosity between the two. While being pro-business and broadly centrist, the DA is also seen as being the party most closely linked to South Africa's white community. The EFF on the other hand supports land expropriation without compensation.
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