JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s decision African National Congress was on the verge of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time on Saturday after an election which brought an impressive drop in support for the party that led his country out of apartheid under Nelson Mandela.
The results were not yet final, but with more than 97% of the votes counted, the ANC had just over 40%. It’s a huge oversight considering the ANC dominated South African politics for 30 years since the end of white minority rule in 1994 and at its peak won 70% of the vote in Africa’s most advanced economy.
Election officials said the final results of Wednesday’s elections will be declared by Sunday, but it appears they may now be released sooner. The latest vote count it was still happening of some of the 23,000 polling stations in the country’s nine provinces.
The ANC still somehow has the largest vote share, according to the partial results. But without a majority, it will be necessary to negotiate a coalition with another party or parties to remain in government. This also has repercussions for the future of South African President Cyril Ramaphosaa protégé of Mandela.
South Africans vote for parties in national elections to decide how many seats each party gets in Parliament. Lawmakers then elect the president, and if the ANC does not reach the 50% mark, it will not have a majority of lawmakers and will need the help of others to re-elect Ramaphosa for a second and final term.
Which parties can the ANC approach co-governing is the urgent focus now, given that Parliament needs to meet and elect a president within 14 days after the final election results are officially declared. A flurry of negotiations was expected to take place and they are likely to be complicated.
A possible coalition partner, the new MK Partysaid one of the conditions for any deal was that Ramaphosa be removed as leader and president of the ANC.
“We are willing to negotiate with the ANC, but not with Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC,” said MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela.
More than 50 parties contested the national elections, but given how far the ANC appears to be from a majority, it is likely that it will have to approach one of the three main opposition parties.
The main opposition Democratic Alliance has around 21% of the votes and counting is still coming; the MK Party of former president Jacob Zuma has 14% and the Economic Freedom Fighters has 9%. They have very different ideologies and could push the ANC and South Africa in very different directions in any coalition.
MK and the far-left EFF have called for the nationalization of parts of the economy. The centrist AD is seen as a business-friendly party and analysts say an ANC-DA coalition would be better received by foreign investors.
Despite the uncertainty, South African opposition parties welcomed the new political framework as a much-needed change for the country of 62 million inhabitants, which is the most developed in Africa, but also one of the most unequal in the world.
South Africa has widespread poverty and extremely high levels of unemployment and the ANC has struggled to raise the standard of living for millions of people. The official unemployment rate is 32%, one of the highest in the world, and poverty disproportionately affects black people, who make up 80% of the population and have been the core of the ANC’s support for years.
The ANC was also blamed – and apparently punished by voters – for a failure in basic government services. that impacts millions and leaves many without water, electricity or adequate housing.
“We have been saying for the last 30 years that the way to rescue South Africa is to break the ANC majority and we have done that,” said Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen.
Almost 28 million South Africans were registered to vote and participation is expected to be around 60%, according to data from the independent electoral commission that runs the elections.
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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.
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