Midrand (South Africa),June 3,2024: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the country’s political parties to work together for the good of the country as final results from last week’s election confirmed his African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority for the first time.
The result, announced on Sunday, is the worst election showing for the ANC – Africa’s oldest liberation movement, once led by Nelson Mandela – since it came to power 30 years ago, ending white minority rule.
Voters, angry at joblessness, inequality and rolling blackouts, slashed support for the ANC to 40.2 percent, down from 57.5 percent in the 2019 parliamentary vote.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), had 21.6 percent and uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma, managed to grab 14.7 percent – pulling away votes from the ANC.
Official results showed the ANC winning 159 seats in the 400-seat National Assembly, down from 230 previously.
“It has to find a partner in order to be able to govern. Otherwise, it could try to form a minority government, which could make it very difficult to pass any form of legislation or advance ANC policy,” he said.
Plotting a path forward
ANC officials earlier said the party was humbled by the result and had “nothing to celebrate” but stood by Ramaphosa, once Mandela’s lead negotiator to end apartheid, and said they would not bend to pressure for him to step down.
The poor showing has fuelled speculation that Ramaphosa’s days might be numbered, either because of the demands of a prospective coalition partner, or as a result of an internal leadership challenge.
Political parties now have two weeks to work out a deal before the new parliament sits to choose a president, who would likely still hail from the ANC, since it remains the biggest force.
Local media reported the DA could be open to entering a cooperation pact with the ANC, supporting it in key decisions in exchange for top jobs in parliament. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) would also be part of such a deal.
The ANC’s leadership will meet on Tuesday to plot the path forward.
