Cyril Ramaphosa was reelected South Africa's president on Friday, having brokered a deal with the opposition for a government of national unity after his African National Congress party's worst election result since the end of apartheid.

A skillful negotiator, Ramaphosa clinched the agreement with the white-led Democratic Alliance and at least two other smaller parties as the National Assembly held its first sitting since the election and prepared to elect a head of state.

But Ramaphosa, 71, has emerged weakened from the May 29 election as the ANC lost its parliamentary majority, and some political analysts have questioned whether he will be able to serve a full second five-year term.