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ANC looks set to share power after historic loss
[BBC] South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is under growing pressure after leading the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to its worst election result in 30 years, forcing it to share power.With almost all the votes in, the ANC is on 40% - down from 58% at the previous election. This is lower than the party's feared worse-case scenario of 45%, analysts say. The ANC has always polled above 50% since the country's first democratic elections in 1994, which saw Nelson Mandela become president. But support for the party has been dropping significantly due to anger over high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime. Citing the cost-of-living crisis and frequent power-cuts, a woman told the BBC she ended a 30 year voting streak for the ANC in favour of the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) this time. "This result is not good. I wanted it out of government. We need to give someone else a chance," she said The final results will be announced at 18:00 local time (17:00 BST) on Sunday, the BBC understands. The ANC leadership has begun to consult internally to prepare for complex coalition talks. Its options are the DA, which is in second place on 22%, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party led by former President Jacob Zuma, on 15%, or the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 9%. Both the EFF and MK advocate seizing white-owned land and nationalising the country's mines. The MK has said it would be prepared to work with the ANC, but not while it was led by Mr Ramaphosa. He replaced Mr Zuma as both president and ANC leader following a bitter power struggle in 2018. MK supporters have been celebrating overnight in Durban, the biggest city in the party's heartland of KwaZulu-Natal province. The party was only formed in December. ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe said his party was unlikely to form an alliance with the DA. He said there would have to be "policy alignment" between parties to form a coalition agreement. For the ANC, its black empowerment policies - aimed at giving black people a stake in the economy following their exclusion during the racist apartheid era - were "non-negotiable". He added that any coalition partner would have to agree to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which promises universal health care for all, signed into law earlier this month. The DA opposes both the NHI and the ANC's black empowerment policies. Despite the ANC's reluctance to align with the DA, its leader John Steenhuisen hasn't ruled out the idea. But if an alliance with the ANC was reached there would be a few non-negotiables, he said. "Respect for the rule of law and the constitution, a social market economy that treats the private sector as partners in the growth agenda. "Zero tolerance for corruption and cadre deployment, and an absolute laser-like focus on economic policies that grow jobs." A record 70 parties and 11 independents were running, with South Africans voting for a new parliament and nine provincial legislatures. The DA has signed a pact with 10 of them, agreeing to form a coalition government if they get enough votes to dislodge the ANC from power. But this does not include the EFF or MK, who would be needed to form a majority. Related: Cyril Ramaphosa 04/24/2024 South Sudan's president says against Sudan's disintegration Cyril Ramaphosa 04/09/2024 African Ukraine. Unlearned lessons from the Rwandan genocide 30 years later Cyril Ramaphosa 03/30/2024 Investigators comb scene of deadly South Africa bus crash Related: African National Congress: 2024-05-16 160 lawyers demand US investigate South African gov. corruption African National Congress: 2024-04-03 South Africa: parliamentary speaker faces imminent arrest over graft charges African National Congress: 2024-03-30 South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma involved in car crash Related: Jacob Zuma 03/30/2024 South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma involved in car crash Jacob Zuma 03/21/2024 South Africa: ANC takes new opposition party to court Jacob Zuma 12/26/2023 Durban Riots July 2021 Posted by: Skidmark 2024-06-01 |
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