South Africa is forming a unity government. What happens next?

The African National Congress must negotiate with rivals to form the government after it lost its majority for the first time in last month’s election

The African National Congress (ANC), which lost its 30-year-old parliamentary majority in last month's vote, must now share power for the first time since the end of white minority rule if it wants to continue governing South Africa.

Also read: A new era: on the South Africa general election

Having opted for a government of national unity over a traditional coalition formation, the party of the late Nelson Mandela is racing to cobble together a patchwork bloc made up of its erstwhile rivals.

Here is a timeline of what to expect next.

The ANC has until the first session of the new parliament, scheduled for June 14 to forge its new political alliances before lawmakers sit to choose a president, who is expected to be from the ANC as it is the largest party.

Given its poor election performance, the ANC will need to bring in at least one large rival among its prospective partners. It is talking to parties spanning the political landscape, from the free-marketeer Democratic Alliance (DA) to the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). But major ideological differences and in some cases, long-standing animosity are complicating matters.

The DA, the largest opposition party, has said it won't join a formation with the EFF or former President Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which came in a surprising third in last month's vote. The EFF has said it will not enter a government that includes the DA or the Freedom Front Plus — two parties that draw support from among South Africa's white minority.