South Africa: News Update - South Africa's ANC led by Mandela loses total control.
In the recent parliamentary elections in South Africa, the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has lost its absolute majority for the first time in thirty years. Based on the 97.51% of the votes counted by the Electoral Commission (IEC), they had secured 40.11% of the votes at that point. This early outcome shows a significant decline in power. In contrast, during the 2019 parliamentary elections, the ANC still commanded 57.5% of the votes.
This is the first instance in the nation's history where the ANC, the political party that Nelson Mandela belonged to, will need to form a coalition. Since the establishment of democracy in 1994, the ANC has always managed to win an absolute majority and govern the largest economy on the continent by itself.
As per the preliminary results, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has managed to secure 21.71% of the votes, while the party established by ex-president Jacob Zuma six months ago, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), has amassed 14.84%. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a Marxist-aligned party, has obtained 9.37%.
Several political pundits attribute the ANC's considerable loss of power by nearly 17 percentage points since the 2019 parliamentary elections to the emergence of the MK. Nevertheless, the ANC also holds the government's ineffectiveness responsible for its losses. Currently, South Africa, a country of 61 million people in the southernmost tip of Africa, is grappling with a sluggish economy, widespread unemployment, deteriorated state-owned enterprises, recurring power outages, and high levels of crime and corruption.
Out of the 52 parties that participated in the election held on May 29, the newly elected parliament must form a government within two weeks and elect a president. The provincial governments were also re-elected.
These elections hold relevance for Germany and Europe. South Africa boasts the strongest economy in Africa. Politically and economically, it is seen as the entry point into Africa, the gateway to a continent that is gaining importance in the international arena due to its energy requirements. Although South Africa maintains friendly relations with Western countries, its government maintains close ties with Russia and China.
In the Gaza War, South Africa observes a pro-Palestinian stance. They have filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip.
