Ramaphosa Sworn in as South African President After Reelection

By Al Mayadeen English

19 Jun 2024 18:14

During the inauguration ceremony, Ramaphosa swore to be "faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other law of the Republic."

Reelected South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was inaugurated in on Wednesday, pledging to uphold and enforce the republic's fundamental and other laws.

Ramaphosa was reelected for a second term by lawmakers, following a historic coalition agreement between his African National Congress (ANC) of the late Nelson Mandela and the Democratic Alliance (DA), setting aside their long-standing rivalry.

Ramaphosa secured the late Friday vote with 283 votes, defeating Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who received 44 votes.

During the inauguration ceremony, Ramaphosa swore to be " faithful to the Republic of South Africa, and will obey, observe, uphold and maintain the Constitution and all other law of the Republic."

The National Assembly reelected Ramaphosa as president last week after his African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since the first post-apartheid election in 1994, forged a national unity government with two smaller parties.

Although leading opposition parties such as MK Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have their roots in the ANC, the parties have starkly set themselves apart due to past in-party disputes that led to the formation of MK and EFF. 

Historically, the ANC, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the DA have been rivals, with the DA leading the opposition from 1999 until the 2024 elections. On the other hand, the ANC, coming out of the South African revolution led by Nelson Mandela, has held a near majority position in the South African National Assembly since 1994. 

However, this year, the ANC suffered a resounding setback of 71 seats in the National Congress, forcing it to form a coalition government with the DA.