South Africa heads for coalition as ANC support plunges

South African parties geared up for coalition talks on Friday as the governing African National Congress (ANC) looked set to fall well short of a majority for the first time in 30 years of democracy.

While the party of the late Nelson Mandela looked likely to remain the largest political force after Wednesday’s election, voters appeared to have punished the former liberation movement for years of decline.

With results in from 61.2% of polling stations, the ANC had 41.9% of votes, a precipitous drop from the 57.5% it secured in the last national election in 2019.

The pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) was in second place on 23%. uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was at 11.7% and eating into ANC support, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s home province.