Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to work with politicians across the political spectrum after being reelected as President of South Africa by lawmakers on Friday.
“I will serve all and work with even those who did not support me,” Ramaphosa told the National Assembly in Cape Town.
His reelection comes after his African National Congress party struck a dramatic late coalition deal with the main opposition party and others to allow him to clinch a second term in office.
Ramaphosa won convincingly in a Parliamentary vote against a surprise candidate – Julius Malema, the leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters.
Ramaphosa won 283 votes to Malema’s 44 in the 400-member house.
The 71-year-old Ramaphosa secured his second term with the help of lawmakers from the second biggest Democratic Alliance (DA) party and others after the ANC lost its 30-year parliamentary majority in a landmark election two weeks ago.
The ANC signed an agreement with the DA — once its fiercest political foe — just hours before the vote for president, ensuring Ramaphosa returned as leader of Africa’s most industrialized economy.
The parties will now co-govern South Africa in its first national coalition where no party has a majority.