Tension and stand-offs as South Africa struggles to launch coalition gov’t

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa shakes hands with the newly elected Deputy Speaker of Parliament Annelie Lotriet while DA leader John Steenhuisen looks on [Nic Bothma/Reuters]

Johannesburg, South Africa – Nearly a month since landmark national elections saw the African National Congress (ANC) lose its majority for the first time, forcing it to form a coalition to govern South Africa, a deadlock stemming from the allocation of cabinet positions threatened to topple the whole house of cards.

Tense negotiations, mainly between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA), the two biggest parties in the coalition, led to delays this week of President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing his cabinet in the Government of National Unity (GNU).