South Africa’s ruling party, formerly the main anti-apartheid movement, has lost some support from people who say their hopes for economic opportunities have not been fulfilled since the end of white minority rule.
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However, it was trailing the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) in Port Elizabeth, which it has previously held virtually unopposed for the last two decades.
Since the end of apartheid, the ANC had enjoyed an iron electoral grip on these areas.
The BBC’s Nomsa Maseko says as it looks like no party will win an outright majority in the economic hubs of Johannesburg or Tshwane, and coalition negotiations are already underway.
“It’s a confirmation that the ANC under Jacob Zuma and the kind of problems that surrounding his presidency, particularly with relation to corruption and so-called state capture, have damaged the ANC in its most urban, sophisticated constituencies”, Nic Borain, a Cape Town-based political analyst and adviser to BNP Paribas Securities South Africa, said by phone, referring to the party and country’s president. Long after it was clear that support for the party had collapsed there, the deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said it was too early to analyse the election results.
“Workers have a responsibility of defending and consolidating the gains that have been made since 1994, and also to stop political parties like the DA (Democratic Alliance) from taking us back to the dark ages”, COSATU said one day before the elections take place.
“The party leadership will take collective responsibility”.
The ANC chief whip, Jackson Mthembu, said the losses across the country were “a worrying trend” for the ruling party and would prompt soul-searching.
“All of this points at Zuma, ultimately the buck stops with him”, Fikeni said, adding that “his name keeps featuring in major political scandals”.
Zuma, a traditional Zulu with four wives and an earthy style, has helped deliver the Zulu vote in the province for the ANC in elections, and cast his own vote in the area on Wednesday.
With 85 percent of the vote counted, the ANC led in the national count with 53.5 percent, against 27.5 percent for the Democratic Alliance and 7.5 percent for the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters.
It has, however, won some support from voters frustrated about inequality in a country where black people make up about 80 per cent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for about 8 per cent of the population.
But the ANC’s inability to deliver public services in many major metropolitan areas has swayed some voters.
“(Our score) gives us a lot more decision-making and negotiating power”, Mandisa Mashego, a senior EFF official, told reporters.
In December, he was widely criticized for changing his finance minister twice in a week, sending the rand plummeting and alarming investors.
Scandals swirling around Zuma have also hurt the ANC. Opposition groups have seized on the revelation that the state paid more than $20 million for upgrades to Zuma’s private home.
Final results for this year’s election are expected by Friday.
The party is due to meet then to pick Zuma’s successor as party leader, who would become South Africa’s president should the ANC continue its unbroken string of victories in the 2019 election.
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The rand held its ground close to a nine-month high against the dollar early on Friday, partly boosted by the smooth running of the elections.
