The dominance of the African National Congress (ANC) in South African politics has been rattled. The Guardian is reporting, “The ANC which led the fight to free South Africa from apartheid, won just 159 seats in the 400-member national assembly on a vote share of just over 40%. High unemployment, power cuts, violent crime and crumbling infrastructure have contributed to a hemorrhaging of support for the former liberation movement.” Coupled with former embattled South African president and ANC leader Jacob Zuma stoking fears of violence while launching his own party (uMkhonto we Sizwe) which pulled 14.6 percent of the vote away from ANC.
The ANC also lost its majority in three provinces: Northern Cape; Gauteng, which is home to the commercial center Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria; and KwaZulu-Natal, where MK was the largest party.
“What this election has made plain is that the people of South Africa expect their leaders to work together to meet their needs,” president Cyril Ramaphosa told an audience of politicians, diplomats and civil society leaders after the official results announcement.
It remains to be seen if this shift in power will prompt ANC to collaborate with other parties to meet the needs of South Africans.
This story is developing.
Read the entire news story at The Guardian.
This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow Nsenga or TBW on X The Burton Wire News or Facebook @TheBurtonWire.
