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NATIONAL NEWS - Cyril Ramaphosa has been re-elected as President of South Africa. He was up against EFF leader Julius Malema. Ramaphosa gathered 283 votes. This follows an extremely long day of the first sitting of the 7th National Assembly after a pact was formed by the ANC, the DA and the IFP.
Thoko Didiza, the former Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, has been elected as Speaker of Parliament. The DA's Annelie Lotriet is the new Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
The new government is referred to as a Government of National Unity (GNU), but this is debatable as the parties who achieved the third and fourth most votes in the election on 29 May - the MKP and the EFF - are totally opposed to the deal reached by the current ruling coalition.
Many say it should rather be referred to as a multi-party government. This was evident today when candidates with no chance of winning were nominated, slowing down the process while knowing full well that it was inevitable that Ramaphosa, Didiza and Lotriet would get the most votes.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo had his hands full as the EFF demanded that the votes for the key positions be counted in public.
Zondo acceded to the EFF’s request and the parties represented in parliament were granted the right to oversee the counting of the votes.
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