Photo : Rajesh Jantilal, AFP
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Rajesh Jantilal, AFP
IN BRIEF
Ayan Datta
South Africa: Ramaphosa faces poor election results, needs to form coalition
On 2 June, according to BBC, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted that his African National Congress (ANC) party suffered a challenging election result. Ramaphosa said: "Our people have spoken, whether we like it or not, they have spoken." With all voters counted, the ANC finished with a 40 per cent share. It won 159 seats in the nation’s 400-seat Parliament. The Democratic Alliance (DA) finished second, with 87 seats. DA leader John Steenhuisen said he was prepared to form a coalition government. He said: “We urge all others who love our constitution and all it represents to set aside petty politics and narrow sectarian interests and join hands now." Jacob Zuma’s MK party came third with 58 seats. However, Zuma disputed the results. His party alleged that the elections had been rigged. The MK demanded fresh elections and an independent investigation. The ANC's performance decreased from 58 per cent vote share in the previous election. The 1994 elections were the first in which all South Africans voted. The ANC, then led by Nelson Mandela, had won. Since then, the ANC’s vote share has been steadily declining. This year, the party finally lost its parliamentary majority. It needs to form a coalition government to stay in power. Analysts say that issues like water shortages, corruption, unemployment, crime, and power outages have caused the decline. (South Africa president faces up to poor poll result, BBC, 2 June 2024)