MK Party Joins Opposition Alliance Against ANC

South Africa's uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party will join an alliance of smaller opposition parties in parliament in a bid to take on the African National Congress(ANC) and Democratic Alliance-led coalition government, it said at a press briefing in Johannesburg.

The ANC and its largest rival, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance, agreed to work together in a coalition it called "government of national unity," a step change after 30 years of ANC rule.

Former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party came in a surprisingly strong third in the May 29 election however, MK lawmakers boycotted the first sitting of the National Assembly after filing a complaint at the country's top court alleging vote-rigging, which the court dismissed as without merit.

Reading a statement on behalf of Zuma, who had a cough, spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela told reporters that the MK party will join the alliance called the "Progressive Caucus," which includes the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the center-left United Democratic Movement.

This alliance commands close to 30% of the seats in the National Assembly, Ndhlela said, sitting next to Zuma - who answered a few questions after the statement.

Ndhlela said that MK had decided to take up its seats in the National Assembly after receiving legal advice and that it would continue to raise its allegations of a rigged election in parliament and in courts.

The Independent Electoral Commission has said the election was free and fair.

Zuma also slammed the unity government - which includes two smaller parties, the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance, "They decide to put our country as if it's at war. We now need to be together so that we can have a government of national unity, that is meaningless it says nothing", calling it a "white-led unholy alliance"