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'Seun Ibukun-Oni, Abuja
DAILY COURIER - South Africans voted in national and provincial elections that could test the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) 30-year rule.
Seventy parties competed for votes, and a coalition government looks like a possibility for the first time since the end of apartheid.
Initial results are expected within hours of polls closing, and the election commission will announce the final results on Sunday.
After the vote, the new National Assembly will choose the next president from among its members.
For the first time in 30 years, South Africa’s governing party faces election worries.
Support for the ANC is expected to fall dramatically, and it may lose its parliamentary majority. If that happens, it may be forced to form a coalition.
Why this is a historic election
It’s been almost procedural over the last three decades for the African National Congress (ANC) to use its parliamentary majority to elect its leader as president of the country. This year may not be so simple.
Several polls placed the ANC’s support at less than 50 percent ahead of the election, raising the possibility that it might not have a majority.
It is still widely expected to be the biggest party, but if it goes below 50 percent it would then need an agreement or coalition with another party or parties to stay in government and get the 201 votes it needs from lawmakers to re-elect President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final five-year term.
The new parliament must meet for its first session within 14 days of the election results being announced to choose the president. Should the ANC lose its majority, there would likely be a feverish period of bargaining between it and other parties to form some sort of coalition before parliament sits.
It’s possible that several opposition parties could join together to oust the ANC completely from government and Ramaphosa as president if they don’t have a majority. That’s a very remote possibility, though, considering the two biggest opposition parties – the centrist DA and the far-left EFF – are as critical of each other as they are of the ANC and are seen as unlikely to work together.
Voter turnout ‘well beyond’ last election: Electoral commission chief
Sy Mamabolo, CEO of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), said the body was pleased with the high voter turnout on Wednesday.
When asked about specific numbers during a media briefing, he said: “It’s difficult to call until you complete the counting process.
“But it’s safe to say it will be well beyond the 66 percent [turnout] we had in 2019.”
During a media briefing, Independent Electoral Commission CEO Sy Mamabolo said all voting stations were provided with lights in case of a blackout, adding that the commission would look into the reports.
Mamabolo said the commission did not want the votes to occur in the dark, but local media reported that that is precisely what was happening in some areas.
The IEC has seven days to complete the counting process, he explained, but said “it is not the intention of the commission to take the full seven days” to release the results.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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