SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa will not attend this week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, his spokesperson announced on Monday, as his party urgently seeks coalition partners to govern the country.
The African National Congress (ANC), Ramaphosa’s party, is engaged in discussions with a wide range of other parties to form a national unity government. This move comes after the ANC lost its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in last month’s election.
Diplomatic sources had previously indicated that Ramaphosa was expected to participate in the G7 summit from June 13-15 at the invitation of Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7. Italy aims to broaden the summit beyond the traditional seven industrial democracies: the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
‘The president will not be attending the G7 meeting due to current domestic priorities he needs to focus on,’ Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Reuters.
Last week, Ramaphosa emphasised that broad collaboration with other political forces would be the best way to move South Africa forward. The ANC is under pressure to reach an agreement quickly because the new National Assembly is set to hold its first sitting on Friday. One of the legislature’s first tasks will be to elect the next president, which is still expected to be Ramaphosa as the ANC remains the largest party.
The ANC will hold 159 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly. Its closest rivals include the pro-business Democratic Alliance with 87 seats, the populist uMkhonto we Sizwe led by former president Jacob Zuma with 58 seats, and the hard-left Economic Freedom Fighters with 39 seats.
As the ANC navigates coalition talks and seeks to form a stable government, Ramaphosa’s decision to prioritise domestic issues underscores the significance of the current political landscape in South Africa.
