How South Africa’s rival parties ‘found each other’ in a last-ditch deal that saved a president

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s main political rivals are now partners in government after they came together in a last-ditch coalition deal that ensured President Cyril Ramaphosa was dramatically reelected with cross-party support. The agreement was only sealed on the sidelines of a marathon parliamentary session on Friday, allowing Ramaphosa to be reelected hours later for a second term with the help of opposition lawmakers who were once his loudest critics. The agreement between Ramaphosa’s African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance — South Africa’s only major party with a white leader — has given a struggling country a glimmer of hope.