With more than half of the votes counted, the results show that the ruling ANC could lose its majority and be forced to look for coalition partners.
With more than half of the votes counted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) leads with just over 40 percent of the national vote, two days after the country voted in national elections that could pose the biggest challenge to the ANC political policy. dominance since the end of apartheid in South Africa.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the country’s main opposition party, is currently in second place, followed by the MK party and the EFF.
See how the four main parties are doing, according to the latest updates from the Electoral Commission, known as IEC.
What if no party wins a majority?
If the ANC does not win more than 50 percent of the vote, it will have to make a deal with other parties to form a coalition government. The choice of coalition partner will depend on the support needed to surpass the 50 percent mark.
Unless the ANC performs much worse than expected, there is little chance of it being completely removed from power.
What are the main parties in the race?
Four of the biggest players to watch out for in this year’s elections are the ANC, the DA, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Previous election results
The ANC has won every national election since the end of apartheid in 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president.
In 1994, the ANC won 62.5% of the vote. In 1999, it obtained 66.4 percent. In 2004, it reached its highest levels, winning almost 70 percent of the vote. In 2009, it won nearly 66 percent, and in 2014, it won 62 percent.
In the last 2019 elections, the ANC achieved the lowest margin of victory, winning 57.5 percent of the vote.
The DA has come second in the last five elections.
Parties in the current National Assembly
The lower house of parliament is currently represented by 400 members from 14 political parties, distributed proportionally based on the votes each party received in the 2019 elections.
- ANAC: 230 seats (57.5 percent)
- FROM THE: 84 seats (21 percent)
- EFE: 44 seats (11 percent)
- Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP): 14 seats (3.5 percent)
Ten other parties occupy the remaining 28 seats.
How is the president elected?
South Africans do not vote directly for the president.
Instead, they elect members of the National Assembly, who then elect the president by a simple majority – 201 or more votes determine the presidency.
If the ANC wins a majority, President Cyril Ramaphosa, 71, will likely be re-elected as president to serve his second and final five-year term.
When will the final results be announced?
In the last national elections held on May 8, 2019, the final results were announced three days later.
However, this year, with one more vote to count, verifying the results may take longer.
The IEC says it will announce the election results on Sunday.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
