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00:00After two weeks of negotiations, South Africa's biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance,
00:06has reached an agreement with the ANC to form a coalition government.
00:10Thanks to the 3.5 million people who voted for us, the DA will no longer only be an opposition
00:18party at a national level. Instead, the DA now becomes the second biggest party inside
00:26a multi-party national government.
00:29Once unthinkable, the deal between two antagonistic parties is the most monumentous political
00:34shift in South Africa since Nelson Mandela led the ANC to victory, marking the end of
00:40the apartheid.
00:41The ANC's Cyril Ramaphosa is now expected to win the secret ballot of MPs to confirm
00:46his re-election. If that happens, he will be sworn in next week, then unveil his new
00:51cabinet.
00:52For three decades, the ANC has held an absolute majority and elected a president from its
00:57own ranks. But the former liberation movement, weakened by corruption and recent government's
01:02poor economic performance, has seen support collapse, leaving it with only 159 seats of
01:08400 in the South African parliament.
01:11Backing from the free-market Democratic Alliance and its 87 MPs will secure a comfortable majority.
01:18Two smaller groups, the socially conservative Nkafa Freedom Party and right-wing Patriotic
01:23Alliance, will also take part in the unity government.