Parliamentary elections in South Africa – ruling party ANC loses absolute majority for the first time – News

  • In South Africa, following the parliamentary elections, a coalition government is emerging for the first time in the country’s history.
  • After 99 percent of the votes were counted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party received 40.11 percent, according to the National Electoral Commission (IEC).
  • The preliminary partial result indicates a massive loss of power of around 17 percentage points. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the ruling party received 57.5 percent of the vote.

If the former party of anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela falls below the 50 percent mark, which is now considered likely, it will have to form a coalition. In the past 30 years, since the beginning of democracy in 1994, the ANC has always won an absolute majority and ruled the continent’s strongest economy alone.

According to the preliminary partial results, the economically liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) received 21.71 percent, while the party founded just six months ago by former President Jacob Zuma, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), received 14.71 percent. The Marxist-influenced party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) followed closely behind with 9.37 percent.

Reaction to weak government record

The reason for the now expected historic loss of power of the ANC in the country with 61 million inhabitants at the southern tip of Africa is a weak government record: an ailing economy, mass unemployment, ailing state-owned companies, regular power cuts and high crime and corruption.

52 parties vied for 400 parliamentary seats


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Members of 52 parties competed for the 400 seats in the national parliament on May 29. After the results are announced, the newly elected parliament must form a government and elect a president within 14 days. Provincial governments were also newly elected.

The elections are also relevant for Germany and Europe. South Africa is considered politically and economically the “gateway to Africa”, an access country to a continent that is becoming increasingly important internationally due to its raw material reserves needed for the energy transition.

Although South Africa has good relations with Western countries, the government is closely linked to Russia and China. In the Gaza war, South Africa has a strong pro-Palestinian position. It has filed a complaint against Israel before the International Court of Justice for genocide in the Gaza Strip.

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