South Africa Elections Update: ANC Still Shy of Majority
With results in from 16.7% of polling stations, the ANC's share of the vote in stood at 42.5%
South Africa Elections Update: ANC Still Shy of Majority
The African National Congress (ANC) appears on course to lose the parliamentary majority it has held for 30 years, partial results from South Africa's national election showed, in what would be the most dramatic political shift since the end of apartheid.
If the final results confirm the loss of its majority, the ANC will be forced to make a deal with one or more other parties to govern – a situation that could lead to unprecedented political volatility in the coming weeks or months.
Simon Harvey, head of foreign exchange analysis at Monex Europe said:
There will be checks and balances on the ANC power, but the ultimate risk is that the infighting could make governance ineffective.
With results in from 16.7% of polling stations, the ANC's share of the vote in Wednesday's election stood at 42.5%, with the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) on 25.8%, data from the IEC showed on Thursday.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party was on 8.5%, while uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was snapping at its heels on 8%.
South Africa Elections Update: ANC Still Shy of Majority
noting that while the picture would evolve, it was unlikely to change to that extent, pollster Reza Omar of Citizen Surveys said:
I don't think it's likely for the ANC to reach a majority.
South African broadcaster eNCA projected that the ANC's final score would land on the 45% mark while the DA would remain the largest opposition party on 21%.
The ANC said in a statement:
The ANC looks forward to a clear mandate from voters to continue the work of transforming South Africa and building a better life for all.
Tessa Dooms, director of the Rivonia Circle think-tank in Johannesburg, said the early results were skewed towards rural areas where she would have expected the ANC to be performing more strongly than it was.
With South Africa entering uncharted political territory, the speed at which a coalition could be formed would be an indication of what was to come.
