SA polls: Coalition imminent as ANC fails to secure majority after 98% votes

With a few hours to the end of results collation, the stakes are high for South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) as it is yet to secure the majority of votes needed to win parliament seats.

Results from the country’s electoral commission show that the ANC has secured 40.23 percent so far while the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main opposition party, has 21.67 percent.

The new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party led by ex-President Jacob Zuma is in third place with 14.73 percent, ahead of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which has 9.46 percent.

The results were collated from over 98 percent of voting districts. The final outcome is expected by Sunday morning.

Should the outlook remain the same, the ANC will – for the first time in 30 years – need to negotiate with some opposition parties to support a national coalition government if it is to remain in power under President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The party would also need to do the same to stay in power in other provinces.

South Africa runs a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which constitutional power is shared between the president and parliament.

For a party to win the elections, it has to secure 50 percent of votes.

Early election projections had suggested that the ANC would record a massive loss in support.

In the 2019 election, the ANC achieved its lowest victory margin of 57.5 percent.

The party’s support began to decline in recent years following constant power blackouts, a rise in violent crimes, widespread poverty, and unemployment in the country.