South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), failed to win a majority in the recently concluded elections.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (file image)
Cape Town: South Africa’s election results were announced on Sunday. No party won a majority in the vote, which took place on Wednesday, May 29. Officials said no party won a majority in the vote. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) only received 40.21 percent of the vote, falling short of a majority. The ANC must now form a coalition with other parties to form a government.
Of note, since late 1994, apartheidThe ANC failed to win a majority and lost re-election as president Cyril Ramaphosa In South Africa, people vote to elect members to parliament, who then elect the president.
Nelson Mandela’s ANC party played a key role in liberating South Africa from the apartheid system in 1994. Since then, the party has never lost its majority in parliament. The ANC announced early Sunday that it would begin negotiations with all major parties to form South Africa’s first coalition government, according to the Associated Press.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party was open to all negotiations, including with the main opposition party. Democratic AllianceNotably, the Democratic Alliance has long been a leading critic of the ANC, but is seen by many analysts as South Africa’s most stable coalition government option, according to international news agencies.
The Democratic Alliance came in second with about 21 percent of the vote. Ramaphosa is seeking his second and final term as South Africa’s president. Mbalula said Ramaphosa’s position as party leader remains secure regardless of the election outcome.
The ANC secretary-general added that the ANC would not consider demands from former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party for President Ramaphosa to step down. “No party can impose conditions on us, the ANC. They don’t… If they come to us with their demands, forget it,” Mbalula said, according to the Associated Press.
Notably, Zuma’s MK Arthi party won more than 14% of the vote, compared with less than 10% for the EFF. Only 16.2 million people reportedly voted in the election, out of a total of 27.7 million people.
