South Africa's DA party withdraws from national dialogue amid coalition dispute

FILE PHOTO: John Steenhuisen, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and Minister of Agriculture of South Africa, arrives at the Cape Town City Hall ahead of the State Of The Nation (SONA) address by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town, South Africa February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa's Democratic Alliance party has withdrawn from a national dialogue but stopped short of leaving the coalition government after President Cyril Ramaphosa fired one of its deputy ministers, DA leader John Steenhuisen said on Saturday.

The national dialogue is a process launched by Ramaphosa to unite the country after last year's election, which saw his African National Congress lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in three decades, forcing it to team up with the DA to form a government.