JOHANNESBURG: The South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress (ANC) faced a significant setback on Friday as electoral results indicated its lowest performance in history. Voters showed a remarkable shift away from the party, marking an end to its three-decade-long political dominance in the country.
The ANC is now poised to fall below the critical 50 percent of vote share, forcing the party to seek a coalition partnership for the first time to secure enough support for forming a government.
This development signifies a pivotal moment in the nation’s democratic trajectory. Since 1994, when Nelson Mandela led South Africa into democracy, the ANC has held an absolute parliamentary majority. However, with over two-thirds of the votes counted from Wednesday’s general election, the ANC’s share stood at just under 42 percent, a stark decline from the 57 percent it secured in 2019 and the 62 percent achieved by Mandela in 1994.
Despite the Democratic Alliance (DA) holding second place with 22.64 percent, it wasn’t solely the DA’s surge that eroded the ANC’s support. Remarkably, the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), led by former president Jacob Zuma, claimed third place with 12 percent—a surprising feat for a party established just six months ago as a platform for the former ANC leader.
While final results are expected over the weekend, the prevailing trends and data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) website have spurred discussions among politicians and analysts about the possibility of an ANC-led coalition.
