South Africa’s Political Future Hanging by a Thread

Parties meet this week to try to form make-or-break government, but disparate policy positions and animosities threaten to derail talks.

President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa during the official election results announcement ceremony at the IEC National Results Center, in Johannesburg on June 2, 2024. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG—South Africa’s future will be defined this week when political parties meet to thrash out a power-sharing deal following the country’s historic election on May 29.

The vote shattered the majority enjoyed by the African National Congress (ANC) since South Africa’s first multiracial poll in 1994, when it received 40 percent of the vote.