ANC secures worst election outcome yet, earning 41.5% of the votes.
The most dominant force, revealed on Friday, was the recently formed party MK led by former president and ANC chairman Jacob Zuma, boasting a surprising 12.8% of the votes. Coming in a close second was the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by ex-ANC member Julius Malema with 9.4% of the votes. The current situation has the voter turnout at about 58% - a significant decrease compared to the 66% recorded during the previous election in 2019.
Official results will be calculated on Saturday, but preliminary numbers align with experts' predictions and recent polls.
As the current ruling party, President Cyril Ramaphosa's party is unlikely to exceed 50% of the votes, meaning they'll need to seek out coalition partners to be re-elected and given the task of government formation. This would mark a pivotal moment in South Africa's history, having held its first free and democratic elections in 1994.
Forming a coalition with the DA, headed by John Steenhuisen, may meet resistance from within ANC since their economic liberal policies and plans for privatization contrast starkly with those of the ruling party. There are also substantial objections to the MK party led by Jacob Zuma and the left-radical EFF.
Almost 27.6 million registered South Africans were urged to vote on Wednesday to decide the makeup of the 400-seat parliament, which will later elect a new president in June. A plethora of corruption scandals within the ANC, high unemployment, a weakened economy, high crime, inequality, and frequent power outages have led many South Africans to turn away from the ruling party.
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- Nelson Mandela's party, the ANC, experienced its worst election outcome yet, earning only 41.5% of the votes, while Jacob Zuma's recently formed MK party got a surprising 12.8%.
- In the second position, the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema achieved 9.4% of the votes, outperforming some expectations.
- The current election result indicates that the African National Congress (ANC) is unlikely to exceed 50% of the votes, necessitating coalition partners for President Cyril Ramaphosa and potential government formation.
- The opposition Democratic Alliance, headed by John Steenhuisen, could potentially become a coalition partner for the ANC, but their policies and plans for privatization may face internal resistance within the ruling party.
- The partial result of the Parliamentary election shows that the MK party led by former president Jacob Zuma and the radical left-wing EFF have also gained significant support, posing another potential challenge to the ANC.
- Partial results from the election show that the ANC secured only 41% of the votes, which is a significant decline from its previous result of 57.5% in 2014, emphasizing the changing political landscape in South Africa.
