The ANC secretary-general said the party was not yet in a position to give details on the discussions between parties.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party believed it had reached a "major breakthrough" and the majority of South African political parties agreed on the need to work together "to move the country forward".

Mbalula was speaking at a press conference on the Government of National Unity (GNU) after the ANC's National Executive Committee's (NEC's) special meeting in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon and evening. The meeting took place on the eve of the inaugural sitting of Parliament that will see a President and National Assembly Speaker elected on Friday.

"We have engaged, like we said, with a number of political parties and we have reached a breakthrough on the common agreement that we need to work together...

"We have agreed that, as political parties, we need to gravitate towards the centre, except a few, who did not expressly support the GNU. We are not going to retreat on the concept of the GNU because we believe that the government of national unity, to us, represents the outcome of the elections," Mbalula said.

However, he kept mum on details of the discussions between parties.

"The ANC is not yet in a position to give details in relation to...