A presidential election was held in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 15 February 2018 following the resignation of

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

on 14 February. Acting president

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

of the ruling

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

won the election unopposed due to no other party nominating a candidate. Ramaphosa was sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng at 5pm, 15 February 2018.

Background

Following the announcement of the resignation of President

late on 14 February 2018, and official receipt of a letter of resignation by the Speaker of Parliament during the morning of 15 February,

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was convened to elect a new president. The

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...

is elected by the members of the

, the lower house of Parliament. The upper house, the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the post-apartheid constitution of South Africa, constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate of South Africa# ...

, does not participate in the election. In a press conference before the session, Julius Malema, leader of the

Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...

(EFF) announced that his party will not participate in the election.

Election

Shortly after the start of the sitting of Parliament the EFF objected to the legitimacy of the process, stating that parliament should be dissolved and a general election called. All members of the EFF then walked out. The Chief Justice of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

, Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the election. He began proceedings by reading Zuma's letter of resignation. Parties traditionally nominate their respective leaders as candidates.

, leader of the

and Acting President since Zuma's resignation, was the only nominee. Thus there was no ballot and Ramaphosa was declared duly elected.

Responses

Mosiuoa Lekota Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota (born 13 August 1948) is a South African anti-Apartheid revolutionary for the African National Congress (ANC) who served jail time with Nelson Mandela from 1985 and who left the ANC to form the Congress of the Peo ...

, leader of the Congress of the People party objected to the nomination of Ramaphosa, and said his party will take the issue to the

. * Mmusi Maimane, leader of the Democratic Alliance, congratulated President Ramaphosa, but reminded the house of their motion to dissolve Parliament and call for an early general election.

Oath of Office

In a brief ceremony at Tuynhuys, the office of the Presidency in Cape Town, President Elect Ramaphosa was sworn in as the fifth post-apartheid President of South Africa, shortly after 17:00 SAST (15:00 UTC) on 15 February by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

References

{{Cyril Ramaphosa

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Presidential elections in South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa