President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has acknowledged that his African National Congress (ANC) party had a difficult election, losing its majority for the first time since apartheid ended thirty years ago.
The African National Congress (ANC), which was previously headed by Nelson Mandela, gained 159 seats in the 400-seat parliament on Wednesday, compared to 230 in the previous session. Even yet, Mr. Ramaphosa hailed the outcome as a democratic triumph and urged the opposing parties to work together, perhaps in anticipation of coalition negotiations. While it opposes several of Mr. Ramaphosa's government's top policies, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party has said that it is open to coalition discussions with him. As to the electoral commission's announcement on Sunday, the African National Congress (ANC) secured 40% of the total votes, a decrease from 58% in the last election. According to observers, this was less than the party's worst-case estimate of 45%. To create the next government, the ANC must now form a coalition. "Whether we like it or not, our people have spoken," Mr. Ramaphosa said.
"As the leaders of political associations, as all those who occupy positions of responsibility in society, we as a species have heard the voices of our constituents, and we must respect their wishes."
The electorate, he said, wants the parties to come to an agreement.
"Through their votes, they have demonstrated effectively and plainly that our democracy is powerful and that it is enduring," he said. The new parliament of South Africa will convene to choose a president after the political parties have two weeks to reach a coalition agreement. With 87 seats, the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) is still the second-largest party in parliament and has said that coalition negotiations are welcome. "We urge all others who love our constitution along with everything it represents to set aside petty politics and narrow sectarian interests as well as join hands now," John Steenhuisen, head of the DA, stated.
His party, however, rejects two of the ANC's top priorities: the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which would provide universal healthcare to everyone, and its black empowerment policies, which seek to give black people a voice in the economy after their marginalization during the racist apartheid period. Both measures are non-negotiable in coalition discussions, according to the ANC. After the poor outcome, can the ANC recreate itself? Who's doing well, who's not, and why?
The third-place uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, did not attend the results announcement despite having hinted that he could contest them. The MK has said that, should the ANC be headed by Mr. Ramaphosa, it would be willing to collaborate with the party. He took over as president and ANC leader in 2018 after a fierce power battle with Mr. Zuma. Former US ambassador to South Africa from 2013 to 2016, Patrick Gaspard, called the two leaders "sworn enemies" in an interview with the BBC. Mr. Zuma had earlier on Sunday demanded a repeat of the poll and said the electoral commission ought not to declare the results.
He threatened to "be provoking us" on Saturday if the panel disregarded his demands for a new election and an impartial probe into his party's allegations that it was manipulated. He warned, "Don't start trouble when there isn't any." Concerns have now been raised about the possible reactions of Mr. Zuma's followers to the outcomes.
The 82-year-old has been the election's political wild card, and now he's getting ready to show off his kingmaking abilities in KwaZulu-Natal, the region where he was born. The MK party has taken a sizable portion of ANC votes there. Results indicate that, despite being formed just a few months ago, it has garnered the greatest percentage of votes in the province, 44% to the ANC's 19%, for the national election.
That change may have been influenced significantly by local problems, with some residents of the neighborhood abandoning the ANC party after it was unable to address severe water shortages.
There hasn't been tap water in certain areas of the province for ten months, including Trenance Park, which is just 20 minutes' drive from Durban's major metropolis. Locals depend on water tankers, who don't always supply water on schedule. The people of KwaZulu-Natal are hoping that the issue will be permanently resolved now that the election is finished.
Threats to cause instability in the nation would not be accepted, the head of South Africa's police department had earlier said. At a press conference, Police Minister Bheki Cele said, "There cannot be an opportunity for threats of instability to register objections or reservations about the electoral processes." Since 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected as the nation's first democratic president, the African National Congress (ANC) has consistently polled at or over 50%. However, dissatisfaction with the high levels of crime, unemployment, and corruption has resulted in a sharp decline in party support.
"There are tens of millions of young people in that government who are called the Born Free generation, born after 1994 shortly after the end of apartheid, and they feel that their country underwent a political transformation, however not an economic one," Mr. Gaspard told the BBC. He went on, referencing rolling blackouts in particular, saying "it was already becoming abundantly clear that there was a downward trajectory for the ANC due to the fact that it was failing to deliver on the fundamental necessities in the country" back in 2015.
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