The African National Congress (ANC), which led South Africa out of apartheid under Nelson Mandela, faces the possibility of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time following an election that saw a significant decline in support for the ruling party.

With over 97 percent of votes tallied on Saturday, the ANC’s share of the vote stood at 40 percent, and if it stands short of the 50 percent mark, it will not have a majority of lawmakers and will need help from others to reelect President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final term.

The ANC party has been the dominant force in South African politics for three decades since the end of white minority rule in 1994, when it commanded a staggering 70 percent of the vote in Africa’s most developed economy.

Since the country’s inaugural democratic elections in 1994, which resulted in Nelson Mandela assuming the presidency, the ANC has consistently garnered more than 50 percent of the votes in every poll.

Vote tallying is still ongoing at some of the 23,000 polling stations spread across the country’s nine provinces.

Election authorities announced that the official results of Wednesday’s election would be announced by Sunday, but there is a possibility that they could be released sooner.

Meanwhile, according to the partial results, the ANC still has the largest share of votes by some way.

Nevertheless, in the absence of a majority, they will need to enter into discussions with another party or parties to secure their position in the government. 

The new MK Party, a potential coalition partner, has stated that one of their prerequisites for entering into any agreement is the removal of Ramaphosa as the leader and president of the ANC.

“We are willing to negotiate with the ANC, but not the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa,” MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela said.

Over 50 political parties participated in the national election, however, considering the ANC’s lack of majority, it is probable that they will need to engage with one of the three primary opposition parties.

The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, currently holds approximately 21 percent of the vote, while the MK Party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, has secured 14 percent of the vote. The Economic Freedom Fighters, on the other side of the ledger, has obtained 9 percent of the vote.