What we know ahead of Friday’s deadline for South Africa to form a coalition and elect a president

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s Parliament is due to elect a president on Friday while major political parties are still working out a coalition agreement that might or might not see Cyril Ramaphosa return for a second term as leader of Africa’s most industrialized economy. It appears likely to go to the wire after Ramaphosa’s African National Congress party said it would hold a meeting of its most senior officials on Thursday night. South Africa has been in a political deadlock since the ANC lost its 30-year majority in an election two weeks ago, forcing it to form a coalition with others to govern and reelect Ramaphosa.