South African MPs re-elect ANC's Ramaphosa as president

The South African parliament has re-elected the ANC's Cyril Ramaphosa president, in a comfortable 283 votes to 44 victory over left-wing opposition challenger Julius Malema.

"I accordingly declare honourable M.C. Ramaphosa duly elected President," Chief Justice Raymond Zondo told the first meeting of the newly elected National Assembly late on Friday.

Earlier, the newly elected parliament met to form an unprecedented coalition government after Ramaphosa's humbled ANC cobbled together a deal.

The leader of South Africa's second-largest party, John Steenhuisen of the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA), said it had reached an agreement with the ANC to form a multi-party coalition government.

"The DA has reached agreement on the statement of intent for the formation of a government of national unity," he said, adding that the DA and the Zulu nationalist IFP would back the coalition, which they are calling a government of national unity.

"We will be supporting President Cyril Ramaphosa in his election for the president of the Republic of South Africa," Steenhuisen said, during a pause in the opening session of South Africa's seventh parliament since the advent of post-apartheid democracy in 1994.

Earlier, Chief Justice Zondo had opened the first sitting, swearing in MPs in batches ahead of planned votes on the election of a speaker, deputy speaker and the president.

Common agreement

Members of the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party took the oath wearing red overalls and in some cases rubber boots and plastic construction worker helmets.

But they will not be supporting the incoming administration, having refused to countenance joining an alliance with right-wing or white-led parties.

Ramaphosa, the fifth African National Congress president in 30 years, had called for a government of national unity after his party lost its absolute majority in last month's general election.

But the EFF and other leftist parties shunned the deal.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula, anticipated on Thursday that the government would "gravitate to the centre" backed by the DA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and other smaller groups.

"We have reached a breakthrough on the common agreement that we need to work together," Mbalula told a news conference in Cape Town.

EFF chief Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader who wants to nationalise land and some privately owned businesses, said his group was not ready to join hands with right-wing parties.

Graft-tainted former president Jacob Zuma's new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), has disputed the May 29 election results and its MPs boycotted Friday's first sitting of the 400-member assembly.