JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) party lost its majority in the South African Parliament on Saturday for the first time since winning it under Nelson Mandela in the first democratic elections since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has completed counting 99.8 per cent of ballots cast on Wednesday, with the ANC getting only 40 per cent of the votes, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) got 22 per cent; Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the new party founded by former president Jacob Zuma, won about 15 percent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)'s share dropped to just nine percent.
All analysts said now there will be intense talks to decide who will rule the country in the coalition.
“I do not think that the membership of the ANC, we as leaders of the ANC and our supporters should see this as signaling the end of the ANC. This should be a learning point for the ANC.This is a lesson that encourages us to go back to the drawing board,'' ANC campaigns chief Ndumiseni Ntuli told TV channel Newsroom Africa.
“This was a deliberate reflection of the position of the ANC – what is the capacity and quality at different levels of the organisation, from the branch executive committees to the national executive committee; And what measures do we need to take to ensure that this leadership and this membership is reestablished in such a way that it once again becomes an inspiring membership and leadership of the ANC for the population of South Africa,'' Ntuli said. Said.
Ntuli acknowledged that it would be a complex and difficult undertaking, but very necessary.
This year's election was the most closely contested, with 52 parties and several independent candidates competing for the first time for 400 seats in the National Assembly and separate seats for nine provincial governments.
At the provincial level, although the ANC received strong margins in Limpopo (73 percent) and Eastern Cape (62 percent) provinces, it barely made it in the Free State (52 percent) and Mpumalanga (51 percent).It had 49.3 per cent of the vote There will also be coalition talks with other parties in the Northern Cape, which analysts say will be much easier for the ANC to negotiate than in other regions.
The ANC suffered its biggest defeat in KwaZulu-Natal province, where it lost to MK (45 percent) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (18 percent) came third.
In the ninth province, the Western Cape, the DA will continue to govern for its fourth five-year term after winning 55 percent of the vote.
Analysts said it was somewhat ironic that the ANC could lose its majority due to a split in the traditional vote for the party by both the MK and EFF, the latter initiated by former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema.
MK leader Jacob Zuma has been barred by the Constitutional Court from becoming a member of parliament due to a previous criminal conviction for contempt of court.Zuma was sentenced after attending a hearing of the State Capture Inquiry Commission.
However, Zuma's face appeared on ballot papers against the MK party bloc on Wednesday, after the IEC said it was too late to reprint millions of ballot papers.
The IEC is expected to declare the final results of the election on Sunday as final counting continues at over 23,000 polling stations across the country, but no major changes are expected from the results declared so far.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has completed counting 99.8 per cent of ballots cast on Wednesday, with the ANC getting only 40 per cent of the votes, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) got 22 per cent; Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the new party founded by former president Jacob Zuma, won about 15 percent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)'s share dropped to just nine percent.
All analysts said now there will be intense talks to decide who will rule the country in the coalition.
“I do not think that the membership of the ANC, we as leaders of the ANC and our supporters should see this as signaling the end of the ANC. This should be a learning point for the ANC.This is a lesson that encourages us to go back to the drawing board,'' ANC campaigns chief Ndumiseni Ntuli told TV channel Newsroom Africa.
“This was a deliberate reflection of the position of the ANC – what is the capacity and quality at different levels of the organisation, from the branch executive committees to the national executive committee; And what measures do we need to take to ensure that this leadership and this membership is reestablished in such a way that it once again becomes an inspiring membership and leadership of the ANC for the population of South Africa,'' Ntuli said. Said.
Ntuli acknowledged that it would be a complex and difficult undertaking, but very necessary.
This year's election was the most closely contested, with 52 parties and several independent candidates competing for the first time for 400 seats in the National Assembly and separate seats for nine provincial governments.
At the provincial level, although the ANC received strong margins in Limpopo (73 percent) and Eastern Cape (62 percent) provinces, it barely made it in the Free State (52 percent) and Mpumalanga (51 percent).It had 49.3 per cent of the vote There will also be coalition talks with other parties in the Northern Cape, which analysts say will be much easier for the ANC to negotiate than in other regions.
The ANC suffered its biggest defeat in KwaZulu-Natal province, where it lost to MK (45 percent) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (18 percent) came third.
In the ninth province, the Western Cape, the DA will continue to govern for its fourth five-year term after winning 55 percent of the vote.
Analysts said it was somewhat ironic that the ANC could lose its majority due to a split in the traditional vote for the party by both the MK and EFF, the latter initiated by former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema.
MK leader Jacob Zuma has been barred by the Constitutional Court from becoming a member of parliament due to a previous criminal conviction for contempt of court.Zuma was sentenced after attending a hearing of the State Capture Inquiry Commission.
However, Zuma's face appeared on ballot papers against the MK party bloc on Wednesday, after the IEC said it was too late to reprint millions of ballot papers.
The IEC is expected to declare the final results of the election on Sunday as final counting continues at over 23,000 polling stations across the country, but no major changes are expected from the results declared so far.
