CAPE TOWN - The South African parliament on Thursday announced that the inauguration of the country's president-elect will be held in Pretoria Wednesday next week.

According to a statement issued by the parliament, the newly elected National Assembly, the lower house of the legislature, will hold its first sitting Friday at the Cape Town International Convention Center to elect the South African president for the next five years. This follows the country's 2024 general elections on May 29 where members of the National Assembly and provincial legislatures were elected.

"The first sitting of the National Assembly will commence with the swearing-in of all designated members in attendance by the chief justice. Following the swearing-in ceremony, the chief justice will also preside over the election of the speaker of the National Assembly," said Xolile George, secretary to the Parliament, in the statement.

With the speaker and deputy speaker elected, the National Assembly will then be constitutionally competent to proceed with its first major task - the election of the man or woman from amongst the members of the Assembly, to be inaugurated as the President of the Republic.

Xolile George, secretary to South Africa's Parliament

Once elected, the newly appointed speaker will take over the proceedings and preside over the election of the deputy speaker, according to him.

"With the speaker and deputy speaker elected, the National Assembly will then be constitutionally competent to proceed with its first major task - the election of the man or woman from amongst the members of the Assembly, to be inaugurated as the President of the Republic," said George. 

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"This is a crucial process, as it sets the stage for the formation of the new administration that will govern the country. Once elected, the person ceases to be a member of parliament."

The constitution stipulates that once elected as president by the National Assembly, the president-elect must assume office within five days by taking an oath or affirming their faithfulness to the republic and their obedience to the constitution, according to the parliament's secretary.

"After the conclusion of the first sittings, members will proceed to attend the inauguration of the president-elect, which is scheduled for June 19, 2024 in Pretoria," he added.

'Government of national unity'

Meanwhile, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) looks forward to the establishment of a government of national unity, said the party's Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula on Thursday.

"The ANC looks forward to the commencement of the seventh democratic parliament and the establishment of the government of national unity," Mbalula told a press briefing after a meeting of the ANC's National Executive Committee on Wednesday evening in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

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In the general elections held last month, the ANC secured 159 out of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, for the first time falling below the 50 percent needed to maintain its 30-year-old unchallenged majority in the lower house of parliament.

Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) Fikile Mbalula said his party's negotiation team has over the past week held multiple engagements and discussions with political parties which will receive seats in the parliament, including the main opposition party Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party and several other small groups

Mbalula said his party's negotiation team has over the past week held multiple engagements and discussions with political parties which will receive seats in the parliament, including the main opposition party Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party and several other small groups.

"We have reached a breakthrough on the common agreement that we need to work together, whether others call this government of national unity or they call it any other thing for that matter," he noted. "But we have agreed with these political parties that we need to gravitate to the center."

The ANC secretary-general also stressed that his party is "not going to retreat on the concept of the government of national unity, because we believe that the government of national unity, to us, represents the outcome of the elections".

"We did not get outright majority," Mbalula said. "We are in no position to govern this country alone."

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"The ANC is humbled by the fact that the spirit of the engagement with all South Africa's political parties has been characterized by the common commitment to put the interests of the people first, and to ensure that our country comes together to address the common challenges it faces," he added.