South Africa elections: Ruling ANC below 50%, set to lose majority as country counts votes
NEW DELHI: South Africa‘s ruling African National Congress (ANC) appeared set to lose its 30-year-long unchallenged majority as per preliminary results and projections indicated. Voters queued long into the night to cast their ballots.
With nearly a quarter of the votes tallied, the ANC is leading, but with only 43%. This marked stark drop from the 57% it secured in 2019.The liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) follows with 25%, as reported by authorities.
The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) stands in third place with 9% of the vote. Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) follows closely with eight percent.
Final results are not expected until the weekend.
“The broad church of the ANC has taken a substantial knock. This is a shock to the system for the ANC and ultimately will also be a shock to the system for the average South African, who has only known ANC rule since 1994,” said political analyst Daniel Silke.
“It redraws the political boundaries of South Africa and creates a degree of uncertainty,” he added.
If President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party is confirmed to have fallen below 50%, he will need to seek coalition partners to form a new government.
ANC, which has dominated South Africa’s democracy for five continuous terms, is respected for its role in overthrowing white minority rule and its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies. These policies are credited by supporters with lifting millions of black families out of poverty.
However, over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in numerous large-scale corruption scandals. The economy has struggled, and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.
With nearly a quarter of the votes tallied, the ANC is leading, but with only 43%. This marked stark drop from the 57% it secured in 2019.The liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) follows with 25%, as reported by authorities.
The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) stands in third place with 9% of the vote. Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) follows closely with eight percent.
Final results are not expected until the weekend.
“The broad church of the ANC has taken a substantial knock. This is a shock to the system for the ANC and ultimately will also be a shock to the system for the average South African, who has only known ANC rule since 1994,” said political analyst Daniel Silke.
“It redraws the political boundaries of South Africa and creates a degree of uncertainty,” he added.
If President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party is confirmed to have fallen below 50%, he will need to seek coalition partners to form a new government.
ANC, which has dominated South Africa’s democracy for five continuous terms, is respected for its role in overthrowing white minority rule and its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies. These policies are credited by supporters with lifting millions of black families out of poverty.
However, over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in numerous large-scale corruption scandals. The economy has struggled, and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.
