South Africans turn away from ANC following early election results

As the votes poured in, the power and influence of the African National Congress, which has ruled the country for 30 years, appeared to diminish.
South Africans were nervous on Thursday as votes rolled in following a close national election, with early results showing poor results for the African National Congress, the governing party the country for three decades. .
Although official results are not expected until the weekend, projections show the party, known as the A.N.C., will likely garner less than 50 percent of the vote, up from 57.5 percent in the last election five years ago.
This would mean the A.N.C. – for the first time – it would be necessary to form a coalition with one or more rival parties to stay in power. In South Africa's parliamentary system, President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the African National Congress, would need the support of opposition members to seek a second term.
An A.N.C. weakened would significantly change South African politics, as well as its policies, moving the country from a government dominated by a single party to one maintained by fragile coalitions. This strategy worked for the A.N.C. in smaller municipalities, but has been fraught with difficulties in larger cities like Johannesburg, where it has led to political infighting.
With about half of all electoral districts counted, the first results showed the A.N.C. with 43 percent, and behind in the critical provinces that it won handily in the last elections.
These first results for the A.N.C. come largely from rural regions that have remained loyal to the party. In South Africa's most populous province, Gauteng, only 12% of electoral districts had confirmed their results as of Thursday.
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World May 31, 2024 0 23 Add to Reading List

South Africans turn away from ANC following early election results

As the votes poured in, the power and influence of the African National Congress, which has ruled the country for 30 years, appeared to diminish.

South Africans were nervous on Thursday as votes rolled in following a close national election, with early results showing poor results for the African National Congress, the governing party the country for three decades. .

Although official results are not expected until the weekend, projections show the party, known as the A.N.C., will likely garner less than 50 percent of the vote, up from 57.5 percent in the last election five years ago.

This would mean the A.N.C. – for the first time – it would be necessary to form a coalition with one or more rival parties to stay in power. In South Africa's parliamentary system, President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the African National Congress, would need the support of opposition members to seek a second term.

An A.N.C. weakened would significantly change South African politics, as well as its policies, moving the country from a government dominated by a single party to one maintained by fragile coalitions. This strategy worked for the A.N.C. in smaller municipalities, but has been fraught with difficulties in larger cities like Johannesburg, where it has led to political infighting.

With about half of all electoral districts counted, the first results showed the A.N.C. with 43 percent, and behind in the critical provinces that it won handily in the last elections.

These first results for the A.N.C. come largely from rural regions that have remained loyal to the party. In South Africa's most populous province, Gauteng, only 12% of electoral districts had confirmed their results as of Thursday.

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