Breaking News: ANC Set to Lose Majority for the First Time - Coalition Talks Initiated
Get the latest updates on the South Africa elections, where the ruling ANC is facing a historic decline in vote share, potentially leading to the loss of its majority for the first time. In this video, we delve into the implications of this political shift and explore the initiation of coalition talks as parties navigate the new landscape.
South Africa elections: Coalition talks begin as ruling ANC vote share falls, set to lose majority for the first time
President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) secured 41.9% of the votes. The ruling party is set to lose its majority for the first time since 1994.
South African political parties geared up for coalition talks on Friday as early results indicated that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) might fall short of securing a majority of the popular vote, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
This marks the first time in South Africa's 30 years of democratic history. With results coming in from 61.2% of polling stations, the late Nelson Mandela's party has secured 41.9% of votes, a significant drop from the 57.5% it secured in the 2019 national election.
Earlier in the day, the results resumed appearing on the election commission's website after an apparent two-hour technical glitch.
“The data in the data centre remains intact and the results have not been compromised. All services have since been restored, and the leaderboard is working normally. Result processing continues unaffected,” the Election Commission of South Africa (IEC) said in a statement.
The ruling ANC has remained the largest political party since the historic 1994 vote that ended decades of white minority-led rule.
The party had won every national election since 1994, but voters seem to be punishing the party for the country's decline over the last decade. Economic stagnation has led to unemployment, poverty, and increasing crime rates. Crumbling infrastructure has also resulted in regular power outages.
Projections by South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research indicated that the ANC would receive 40.5% of the total vote.
So far, the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) was in second place with 23%. uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was at 11.7% and eating into ANC support, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma's home province.
MK had surpassed the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), currently the third-largest party in parliament, which was sitting on 9.5%.
By law, the election commission has seven days to release full provisional results, but election officials have said they are planning to announce the results on Sunday.
The country follows the proportional voting system to elect members for the 400-member National Assembly. People vote to elect their representatives, who then select the President by a simple majority. A person needs 201 or more votes to be elected as the President.
