Luanda – Angolan president João Lourenço arrived Tuesday in Pretoria, South Africa, to attend Wednesday the inauguration of the re-elected president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
President João Lourenço had earlier congratulated Cyril Ramaphosa, considering that his re-election followed an exemplary election in which the good sense of the participants prevailed and they were able to create the ideal framework for a dynamic and successful democratic dialogue.
"I would therefore like to highlight the conciliatory and open to dialogue role of Your Excellency, which has become the fundamental and decisive factor for the continuity of the institutions of the South African state and their functioning in a climate of harmony, stability and national concord," said President João Lourenço.
João Lourenço took the opportunity to reiterate the Angolan government's desire to maintain and continue to strengthen the strong bonds of friendship, solidarity and cooperation between the two nations and peoples.
"Your Excellency, please accept my best wishes for the new term of office that you will soon begin, as well as good health and personal well-being," the Angolan president had stated in a congratulatory message.
On June 14, South Africa's National Assembly (Lower House) re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as president of the country, despite losing his party’s absolute majority in the May 29 elections.
John Steenhuisen, leader of the main opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA, a center-right liberal party), said hours later in a message to the nation that he had reached an agreement with the President's party for a "government of national unity".
Ramaphosa's party, the historic African National Congress (ANC), won 40.20% of the vote and 159 of the 400 seats in parliament, while the DP, heir to the white political leadership that opposed apartheid, won 21.81% of the vote and 87 seats.
The ANC lost its absolute majority for the first time since the 1994 elections, when Nelson Mandela became the country's first black president putting an end to the segregationist apartheid regime (1948-1994).
After playing an important role in the negotiations that led to the dismantling of apartheid, having been a trade union leader and prospered in the private sector, Cyril Ramaphosa, took up the presidency in 2018 with the promise of putting an end to the corruption that marred the mandate of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma (2009-2018). SC/TED/AMP
