South African ANC led by Mandela faces end of decades of dominance after elections

(Patria) - South Africans angry about unemployment, inequality and power outages have reduced
support for the African National Congress (ANC) to 40 percent in this week's elections, ending three decades of dominance by the party that freed the country from apartheid.

The dramatically weakened mandate for Nelson Mandela's party, down from the 57.5% it won in the 2019 general election, means the ANC must share power with rivals to stay in government, a scenario that is unprecedented, Reuters reported.

"We can talk to everyone," ANC chairperson and current Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, told reporters, sidestepping a question about who it wants a coalition deal with.


The counting of ballots from Wednesday's election was almost complete on Saturday, with results from 99.87% of voting stations giving the ANC 40.19% of the vote. The ANC has won outright in every national election since the historic 1994 vote that ended white minority rule, but support has dwindled over the last decade as the economy stagnated, unemployment rose and roads and power plants crumbled.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), had 21.80% support, while uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, managed to win 14.58%. The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, garnered 9.5%.

Despite its better-than-expected result, MK said it was considering challenging the results in court. "We want a complete rerun," MK spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said at the results centre, minutes before the electoral commission's press conference was due to start. He said MK had evidence that the electoral commission's system had been rigged but did not show it.

Analysts fear Zuma's party could stir up trouble if his supporters, who rioted and looted for days when he was jailed for contempt of court in 2021, reject the results. MK's strong showing, particularly in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal, is one of the main reasons the ANC failed to secure a majority.

Commenting on claims by some parties of vote-counting inconsistencies, Electoral Commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya said earlier that "any concerns raised in these objections will be addressed and we will do so carefully." Asked after MK's claims if the commission felt under siege, Moepya said: "We are determined to fulfil our mandate as required by the constitution," adding that election officials would be ready to announce the final results on Sunday as planned.

Coalition scenarios

EFF leader Malema accepted the election outcome and said he was ready to talk to his former party about a coalition deal. "We have achieved our mission: ... to bring the ANC below 50%. We want to humble the ANC," Malema said. "We will negotiate with the ANC," he said, although an ANC-EFF coalition would not be enough for a majority without a third party.

Analysts say instead of a formal coalition among a few, another option for the ANC could be a "government of national unity" involving a broad range of many parties, similar to the arrangement established after the historic 1994 all-race vote.

Investors in Africa's most industrialised economy hope the uncertain picture will become clear quickly and the country will avoid a prolonged period of wrangling among the main political players.

The ANC's first deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, meanwhile, called on voters and communities to remain calm.

Despite the ANC's result, President Cyril Ramaphosa could still keep his job, as the former liberation movement is on track to win roughly twice as many votes as the next party. But he will be weakened and could face calls from the opposition and his own party to step down. Mokonyane backed him to remain at the helm of the party on Friday, and analysts say he has no obvious successor.

A deal to keep the ANC in the presidency could involve opposition support in exchange for cabinet posts or greater control over parliament, perhaps even for the role of speaker. Malema said the speaker of parliament position was one of the posts the EFF would be seeking.