South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa has been sworn in for a second term on Wednesday, at the Union buildings in Pretoria. Ramaphosa's inauguration comes after his reelection as president by parliament, after getting 283 votes against Julius Malema's 44 votes.
As the festivities conclude the next step to follow is the appointment of cabinet. For the first time since 1994 the African National Congress (ANC) has found itself without an outright majority after obtaining 40% of the vote in the general elections on May 29. This has led to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU), between the ANC the DA and other small parties.
The GNU, together hold 68% of seats in parliament. The input of the other parties will be crucial in policy decisions and governance. It is expected that political parties in the GNU will share various cabinet positions.
The partnership between the ANC and the DA has been criticised mainly by ANC's alliances such as SACP and Cosatu, some ANC members and some members of society, this is because the two political parties have opposing ideologies, however the markets and businesses have reacted excitedly, with the South African Rand strengthening to R18 on Wednesday afternoon. Now the nation will await Ramaphosa to announce his new cabinet.
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