South Africa on the brink of upheaval

ANC wants to reflect the “will of the people”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

(Bild: AFP/Michele Spatari)

In the parliamentary elections in South Africa, the ruling ANC party has lost its absolute majority for the first time. As the electoral commission announced on Sunday evening, the ANC won 159 of the 400 seats. The party will probably have to do something it is completely unaccustomed to: negotiate.

The largest opposition party, the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA), became the second-strongest force with 87 seats. The newly founded MK party of former President Jacob Zuma came third, although he boycotted the announcement of the election results.

The ANC of incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa is now likely to seek a coalition government. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula had previously stated that the party wanted to enter into talks with other parties to form such a government. The ANC wants a government "that reflects the will of the people, is stable and can govern effectively".

Minority government conceivable
However, an ANC minority government would also be conceivable. In the coming weeks, in June, MPs will have to elect the next president of Africa's second largest industrialized nation. Ramaphosa is seeking a second term in office. All polls had predicted that the ANC would lose its absolute majority. The party of South African national hero Nelson Mandela has been experiencing dwindling trust among the population for several years.

Among other things, a series of corruption scandals in the ANC leadership, high unemployment, the weak economy, high crime rates and constant power cuts have led many South Africans to turn their backs on the ruling party. In the parliamentary elections on Wednesday, around 27.6 million registered voters were called upon to vote on the composition of the 400-member parliament in Cape Town. Voter turnout was 58.6%, well below the 66% recorded in 2019.