Ruling Party ‘Obliterated’ in South Africa Election

New era of chaotic coalition politics dawns.

People hang out in the street in the Alexandra township on May 31, 2024, in Johannesburg. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

The African National Congress (ANC), in power in South Africa since Nelson Mandela led it to a sweeping victory in the country’s first multiracial, multiparty election in 1994 to end white minority apartheid rule, captured roughly 40 percent of the vote in the country’s May 29 election, with almost all ballots counted.

Most polls had support for the ANC at about 45 percent to 48 percent.