JOHN DLUDLU: National unity government plan ignores lessons from 1994
The ANC could continue to dominate the government despite the clear message from voters
In 1994 Nelson Mandela cobbled together a power-sharing arrangement, which would become known at the government of national unity (GNU). It principally comprised three protagonists: the ANC (with a clear majority across the country except in KwaZulu-Natal), FW de Klerk’s National Party (NP) and Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s IFP.
Over the past fortnight South Africans have been sold various versions of what their next government could look like. The dominant view, apparently preferred by President Cyril Ramaphosa and his faction in the ANC, is a modern-day version of the GNU that includes as many parties as possible rather than a two- or three-party negotiated coalition. ..
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