The “Spear of the Nation” party in South Africa, led by former President Jacob Zuma, announced that it has joined a coalition of opposition parties in Parliament.
This comes after the African National Congress and its biggest rival, the pro-business Democratic Alliance, agreed on Friday to work together in a coalition that they described as a national unity government, in a move that represents a notable change after the National Congress dominated the country alone for 30 years.
In a surprising result, Zuma’s Spear of the Nation party came in third place in the May 29 elections, which saw the African National Congress lose its majority.
The “Spear of the Nation” party won 14.6 percent of the votes, or 58 seats in the 400-seat National Assembly (Parliament).
Members of the Spear of the Nation Party boycotted the first session of the National Assembly on Friday.
A spokesman for the “Spear of the Nation” party told reporters, in a statement read on behalf of Zuma, that the party will join an alliance called the “Progressive Rally” that includes the Marxist “Economic Freedom Fighters” party and the center-left “United Democratic Movement” party.
The spokesman added that this coalition controls approximately 30 percent of the seats in the National Assembly.
He continued, “This unified effort is necessary because the 2024 elections also resulted in the unification of right-wing and reactionary forces that oppose economic freedom, radical economic transformation, racial equality, and land restoration.”
He said the party decided to take its seats in the National Assembly after receiving legal advice.
Zuma criticized the national unity government, which also included two smaller parties.
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