Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC under pressure after South African election results

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is under increasing 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 votes cast, the ANC has 40%, down from 58% in the previous election.

This is lower than the party’s worst-case scenario estimate of 45%, analysts say:

Since the country’s first democratic elections in 1994, in which Nelson Mandela became president, the ANC has always scored above 50%.

However, support for the party is falling significantly due to anger over high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime.

Citing a cost of living crisis and frequent power outages, one woman told the BBC she had ended a 30-year streak of voting for the ANC in favor of the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA).

“This result is not good. I wanted him removed from the government. We have to give someone else a chance,” she said

According to the BBC, the final results will be announced on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time (5 p.m. BST).

ANC leaders have launched internal consultations to prepare for complex coalition talks.

The choices are DA, which is in second place with 22%, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party led by former president Jacob Zuma with 15%, or the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 9%.

Both the EFF and MK support the seizure of white-owned land and the nationalization of the country’s mines.

The MK said he would be ready to work with the ANC, but not under Ramaphosa’s leadership.

He replaced Zuma as president and ANC leader after a fierce power struggle in 2018.

MK supporters celebrated overnight in Durban, the largest city in the party’s heartland in KwaZulu-Natal province. The party was founded only in December.

ANC president Gwede Mantashe said his party was unlikely to form an alliance with the DA.

He said there would need to be “policy alignment” between parties to form a coalition agreement.

For the ANC, its black empowerment policy – ​​aimed at ensuring blacks had a stake in the economy after their exclusion during the era of racist apartheid – was “non-negotiable”.

He added that each coalition partner would have to agree to the National Health Insurance (NHI) law, which guarantees universal health care for all, which came into force earlier this month.

The DA opposes both the NHI and the ANC’s black empowerment policies.

Despite the ANC’s reluctance to ally with the DA, its leader John Steenhuisen did not rule out such an idea.

However, if an alliance with the ANC is reached, there will remain several 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 its growth agenda.

“Zero tolerance for corruption and staffing, and an absolute laser focus on economic policies that increase jobs.”

Steenhuisen also told the BBC he would need to consult with his pre-election coalition partners before considering any negotiations.

However, he ruled out the EFF and the MK party as potential coalition partners.

“I believe that instability is not in the best interest of the country. A coalition with the radical left in South Africa from the MK and EFF parties will create the same policies that destroyed Zimbabwe and Venezuela,” he said.

Another option would be to work with the EFF, which is headed by Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader. Both parties currently form a coalition governing the country’s largest city, Johannesburg.

A record 70 parties and 11 independents ran, and South Africans voted for a new parliament and nine provincial legislatures.

The DA signed a pact with 10 of them, agreeing to form a coalition government if they obtained enough votes to oust the ANC from power.

However, this does not apply to the EFF or MK, which would be needed to form a majority.

As the parties try to forge alliances, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who leads the African Union’s election observer mission in South Africa, offered some advice on forming a coalition.

He said coalition governments must focus on areas of agreement, not differences.

“I can only wish them all the best and hope that the leadership will take this decision positively,” he said.

Additional reporting by Barbara Plett Usher, Nomsa Maseko and Anthony Irungu