By Ebi Kesiena
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will not attend this week’s Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Italy, according to his spokesperson on Monday, as his party urgently seeks coalition partners to govern the country.
Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) is in discussions with various other parties to form a national unity government after losing its majority in last month’s election, marking the first time since the end of apartheid that the ANC does not hold a majority.
Diplomatic sources had indicated that Ramaphosa was expected to participate in the G7 summit from June 13-15, at the invitation of Italy, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7. Italy aims to broaden the scope of the summit beyond the usual seven industrial democracies: the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
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“The president will not be attending the G7 meeting due to current domestic priorities he needs to focus on,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Reuters.
Ramaphosa emphasized last week that broad collaboration with other political forces is essential for moving South Africa forward. The ANC is under pressure to reach an agreement swiftly, as the new National Assembly is set to hold its first session on Friday.
One of the first actions of the national legislature will be to elect the next president, who is still expected to be Ramaphosa, given that the ANC remains the largest party despite losing its majority.
