South Africa – In light of the fact that his African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority for the first time in the election results last week, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the nation’s political parties to cooperate for the sake of the nation.
Since the ANC came to power thirty years ago and ended white minority rule, it has been Africa’s oldest liberation movement led by Nelson Mandela. The results, which were announced on Sunday, represent the ANC’s poorest election performance to date.
The ANC’s support dropped from 57.5 percent in the 2019 parliamentary vote to 40.2 percent as a result of voters’ ire over unemployment, inequality, and rolling blackouts.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the principal opposition party, received 21.6 percent of the vote, while uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a recently formed party headed by former president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma, received 14.7 percent, stealing votes from the ANC.
According to official results, the ANC won 159 seats, down from 230 in the National Assembly’s 400 seats.
According to Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, from the Results Operation Centre in Midrand, South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) will now look into forming a new administration.
It can’t rule on its own; it needs a partner. If not, it might attempt to form a minority administration, which would make it extremely impossible to enact laws or carry out ANC policy.
Photo credit: AFP News
