After Cyril Ramaphosa's disappointing results in Wednesday's elections, the ANC will now have to form a coalition to maintain power Photo: OUPA NKOSI/REUTERS
The ruling South Africa's party has vowed not to replace President Cyril Ramaphosa amid calls for him to resign to allow coalition talks to continue.
Official survey results Wednesday's vote showed the African National Congress (ANC) has lost control of the political power for the first time in 30 years.
The result means the ANC must now share power in the form of a coalition. to preserve it – a prospect unprecedented since the democratic end of white minority rule in 1994.
In two weeks, the new parliament will elect a president who is likely to break away from the ANC as the largest party.
The party's poor performance has fueled speculation that Mr Ramaphosa's days may be numbered. either due to the demands of a potential coalition partner or as a result of internal leadership problems.
Fikile Mbalula, the party's general secretary, said on Sunday that the ANC would not succumb to pressure from other parties that Mr Ramaphosa, who was once the lead negotiator Nelson Mandela must resign to end apartheid.
“It’s a no.” – go to the zone,” he said.
COSATU – South Africa's largest trade union group and a major ally of the ANC – has also rallied behind Mr Ramaphosa.
Matthew Parks, a COSATU spokesman, said: “The most important thing is that the coalition is led by the ANC and President Ramaphosa.”
Before Wednesday's vote, the ANC had won every national election since 1994 by landslides, but its support has eroded over the past decade.
Voters angry about unemployment, inequality and rolling blackouts have pushed support for Mandela's Legacy Party down to 40 percent, down from 57.5 percent in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Fikile Mbalula, ANC secretary general, gave a press conference on Sunday, saying the party had “nothing to celebrate”; Photo: AP PHOTO
“Have we made mistakes? Yes we did. In governance and everything else,” Mr Mbalula said on Sunday during the ANC's first post-election press briefing, adding that the party had “nothing to celebrate”.
“The ANC is committed to forming a government that reflects the will of the people, that is stable and capable of governing effectively,” Mr Mbalula added.
He said the ANC would hold discussions internally and with other parties to create a national and caretaker government “that reflects the will of the people and is capable of taking the country forward.”
The counting of the results of the May 29 vote was almost complete on Sunday afternoon, with 99.9 per cent of polling stations having received results.
The main opposition party, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA), received 21.8 percent of the vote.
uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) – “spear of the nation” in Zulu – is a new party led by Jacob Zuma , former president, and named after the leader of the ANC. the former armed wing managed to gain 14.6% of the votes, causing the main damage to the ANC.
Although the results were better than expected, MK said it was considering challenging the results in court.
The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, led by Julius Malema, former ANC youth leader, received 9.5% of the vote. .
The prospect of an ANC coalition with the EFF or MK has alarmed the South African business community and international investors, who would prefer a partnership that would lead to the participation of the DA.
Leadership Representatives of the DA and the small Party Inkatha Freedoms (IFP) were due to meet separately on Sunday to discuss next steps.
Charity McCord, a spokeswoman for the DA, said: “We will look at the latest lies.” land,” adding that there had not yet been coalition talks with any party.
Local media reported that the DA could be open to a cooperation pact with the ANC, backing it on key decisions in exchange for top positions in parliament. The IFP could also be part of such a deal.
Mr Mbalula said the ANC leadership would meet on Tuesday to discuss the way forward.
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