This Saturday, when 99 percent of the flyers were counted, The African National Congress received only 40% of the votes, a number far from the previous absolute majorityWhen he got 58 percent.
that’s it The ANC’s worst results since the end of racism30 years ago.
With 400 seats, South Africa’s parliament directly reflects the vote. The final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on Sunday.
African Union observers stressed that Wednesday’s vote was “peaceful” and credible, despite the “tense political environment, exacerbated by several conflicts.”
“Despite the challenges and tensions… The elections were held peacefully, demonstrating the resilience of democratic processes in South Africa“, according to the International Federation.
He added that on Election Day, there were long lines of voters and “some isolated incidents” due to the slow process, but “the day was generally calm and peaceful.”
Forced to negotiate
The tense political environment is expected to worsen over the next two weeks, which is the expected period between the announcement of the results and the selection of the country’s new president. This requires the support of 50 percent of representatives.
The Congress Party lost control of four of the nine provinces that make up the countryincluding Gauteng, which is wealthier, and with the Democrats and Liberals retaining 50 percent of the vote in the southeastern Cape.
The ANC lost narrowly in the Northern Cape, where it received 49 percent of the vote. He won Mpumalanga by 51 percent, the Free State by 52 percent, North West by 58 percent, the Eastern Cape by 62 percent, and Limpopo by 73 percent.
For the first time, the ANC will have to negotiate.
The center-right Democratic Party is expected to be the second most popular party, obtaining 22 percent of the votes. South African expatriates voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Alliance, receiving 75.3 per cent.
“Some voices at the ANC summit defend the pact of confidence” between the ANC and the ANC, despite their polar opposites on social protection policies.
His critical rhetoric of the ANC and his promises to “save” the country through privatization and deregulation, as well as a proposal to end the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy, in place since the advent of democracy in 1994 and which has allowed some South Africans to amass wealth, may hinder negotiations. .
Such an agreement would include surrendering some ministerial portfolios to the opposition partyIn exchange for current President Cyril Ramaphosa remaining in office, according to Christopher Vandome, a researcher at the research center. Think tank London Chatham House.
Key leaders of the ANC, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, met on Saturday to analyze the possibilities.
Friends of enemies
Speaking to journalists at the Independent Electoral Commission election results center in Johannesburg, the party’s electoral representative, Muzi Ntshingila, declared:The party will challenge the process, which was irregular.”
The MKP boasts that it was mainly responsible for the loss of the ANC’s majority. In KwaZulu-Natal, MKP received 45% of the vote, stealing the province from the National Congress.
Zuma, who was barred from running for president by a Constitutional Court ruling over a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court in 2021, said he would refuse to work with ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa.
On the contrary, the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, led by Julius Malema, which is expected to come in fourth place with nine percent, announced its readiness to contact all party forces.
“We will talk to all political parties on the basis of the necessity of forming a government “In the next 14 days,” Malema told reporters at the vote counting center in Johannesburg.
Julius Malema (43 years old) founded the E-Football Federation after he was expelled from the African National Congress, where he was running the youth league, after accusations of stirring up divisions. Despite this, he believes that with the ANC “it is possible to talk”.
An understanding between the ANC, the Knesset Party and the EFE will not be ruled out, due to previous relations between the leaders.
But other analysts said the long-standing rivalries between Zuma and Ramaphosa, who ousted and succeeded him, were “very deep.” They said the EFF’s demands, such as the economic portfolio, redistribution of land to blacks and the nationalization of entire economic sectors, were “highly erratic and unpredictable.”
Malema demands the expropriation of white-owned land, without any compensation.
Uncertain future
The truth of the scale may prove this Velenkosini Hlabisa, his party Inkatha Da Liberdade (IFP) could get 3.9 percent of the votes, placing fifth.
Hlabisa told reporters that South Africa’s new political landscape and new era of political alliances highlight the importance of his small party.
McKenzie wants to expel illegal immigrants and is keen to participate in the negotiations. “I am delusional,” the former gang leader and ex-prisoner said on national broadcaster SABC, stressing that he was the only one, besides Zuma’s Knesset party, to stand out in this scrutiny.
“We will work with anyone,” Mackenzie, 50, added. His party is now the sixth largest party nationally.
After three decades of ANC rule, South Africa is still far from economically prosperous. An example is the electricity shortage that affects practically the entire population for a few hours each day. Unemployment is about 32 percent.
Restoring the economy to growth and combating illicit enrichment will be priorities for the new South African executive. But political instability can ruin everything.
There is no doubt that voters have expressed their dissatisfaction with the ANC, but the future remains uncertain.
With Lusa
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