South African election result confirms no party won majority, alliance talks begin

JOHANNESBERG: South Africa’s ruling African National Congress lost its 30-year overall majority in this week’s election, winning just 159 seats in the 400-seat parliament, official results showed on Sunday. Incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa and politicians from most rival parties attended the announcement, but in a sign he plans to challenge the result, former president Jacob Zuma stayed away.

No party won a majority in the National Assembly.

Voters, angered by unemployment, inequality and power cuts, have reduced support for Nelson Mandela’s legacy party to 40%, down from 57.5% (or 230 seats) in the 2019 parliamentary vote. Behind the ANC’s the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) came with 87 seats with 22% of the vote. In third place was Zuma’s radical upstart party, the newly formed uMkonto weSizwe (MK), which won 14.5% of the vote and 58 seats – but still denounced the process.

The ANC has said it is open to talks with any party but has vowed not to replace Ramaphosa as a condition for forming a governing coalition.