The 30 year legacy of the ANC ends in elections

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Amid ongoing discussions of a coalition government in South Africa, the African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result on Saturday. This put the country on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago.

With nearly 99 per cent of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC had received just over 40 per cent in the election on Wednesday. The final results are still to be formally declared by the electoral commission. "The way to rescue South Africa is to break the ANC's majority and we have done that," said main opposition leader John Steenhuisen. The ANC will need to look for a coalition partner or partners to remain in the government, reelecting President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final term, after the national elections.

The new MK Party of former President Jacob Zuma, who has turned against the ANC he once led, came third with just over 14 per cent of the vote in the first election it has contested. "We are willing to negotiate with the ANC, but not the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa," MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela said. Nearly 28 million South Africans were registered to vote this time.

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