Race to form South Africa’s next government: Who will the ANC ally with?

The governing party has a range of potential partners. But early negotiations suggest that no deal would be easy.

Johannesburg, South Africa — After suffering a stunning blow in last week’s election, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has begun closed-door negotiations with its political opponents to begin talks about forming a coalition government.

On Sunday, the Electoral Commission (IEC) announced that elections in South Africa were “free and fair” but with no single party gaining an outright majority. The final election results confirmed the ANC’s decline in support to just more than 40 percent of the vote – far less than the absolute majority it had for the past 30 years after bringing about an end to apartheid.

Parties have a two-week deadline to elect a president, and analysts said the ANC would likely need to concede to an array of demands to bring others on board for a coalition government.

The ANC held a meeting of its national leaders on Saturday where they discussed coalition permutations and the possibility of forming a “government of national unity”. Such an arrangement would be reminiscent of the era of former president Nelson Mandela, who led a government of national unity from 1994 until 1997. Mandela was the president, with FW De Klerk, the last apartheid prime minister, as his deputy. Leaders of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) were part of the cabinet.

But public policy expert Kagiso “TK” Pooe, told Al Jazeera that a government of national unity might only work if built around clear goals that all parties can agree to.