MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
South African politics entered a new era today as Parliament was sworn in and the long-dominant African National Congress, the ANC, announced it had formed a government of national unity. Kate Bartlett reports from the first sitting of Parliament in Cape Town, which saw President Cyril Ramaphosa reelected.
KATE BARTLETT, BYLINE: South Africa's oft-lauded democracy was on full display today at the first sitting of Parliament, which took place under the shadow of Table Mountain and across the harbor from Robin Island, where the country's first president, Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned during apartheid. As members of Parliament were being sworn in, the ANC announced it had done a deal with the biggest opposition party, its longtime rival, the Democratic Alliance, or DA, and several smaller parties to form what it is calling a government of national unity. DA leader John Steenhuisen said the occasion was historic.
JOHN STEENHUISEN: Given the fact that the voters of South Africa, in this last election, chose not to reward any party with its own majority, they now expect us to find each other and work together to be able to form a stable government, and we believe that the government of national unity is South Africa's best opportunity.
BARTLETT: The ANC had governed with an outright majority since the end of white rule 30 years ago, but voters disillusioned with a flailing economy and years of corruption scandals punished Africa's oldest liberation party at the polls in May. With 40% of the vote, the ANC was forced to look for partners, marking a new era for South Africa of coalition politics. Together, the DA and ANC now have a majority in the 400-seat Parliament.
ASANDA NGOASHENG: I think that, you know, today was a very impressive display of South Africa's democratic majority.
BARTLETT: That was independent political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng. But not everyone in the rainbow nation was united. The recently formed uMkhonto weSizwe party, or MK, led by former President Jacob Zuma, came third in the elections. They rejected the result, falsely alleging the election was rigged and calling for a revote, and boycotted Parliament, leaving rows of empty seats.
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UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing in non-English language).
BARTLETT: But in a full-day session of Parliament, the mood was one of celebration, mixed with anxiety. Both the MK and the radical left wing Economic Freedom Fighters have popular support in the country and have refused to join the unity government, much to the relief of the markets. The rand made gains today after weeks of political unpredictability. Political analyst Ngoasheng again.
NGOASHENG: There are some who say that this coalition actually has the potential to take South Africa into the future and to take South Africa into a new way of thinking doing and being.
BARTLETT: And the country itself can now look to the future after weeks of uncertainty. At a comedy club a few streets away from Parliament, the political jokes were already flowing.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Have you seen the leader of the DA, OK? He looks like he's the guy who arrested the ANC in the '60s. You know what I mean?
BARTLETT: A moment of levity, but everyone here knows the new unity government has a tough road ahead, putting one of the world's most unequal countries back on track.
For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Cape Town.
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