What is Government of National Unity

Formation of coalition governments and politics before and after elections is the manifestation of the absence of overwhelming winner in national, provincial, or local government elections. This chapter aims to contribute to the nascent literature on coalition government and politics within the context of South Africa by examining the historic coalition of the ANC, SACP, COSATU, and SANCO. The chapter is conceptual in approach and it uses a desktop method. The research acknowledges that the tripartite coalition/alliance is without precedent on the African continent and with few parallels throughout the world. Coalition governing is now a phenomenon defining South African body politics, and it is likely to be the future system of government in this country. In terms of the South African system of government, national, provincial, and local governments are critical platforms for service delivery and the overall development of the country that is currently riddled by the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality.