{"id":62724,"date":"2024-05-31T00:39:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T00:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/south-africans-turn-away-from-ruling-party-early-election-results-show\/"},"modified":"2024-05-31T00:39:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T00:39:05","slug":"south-africans-turn-away-from-ruling-party-early-election-results-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/south-africans-turn-away-from-ruling-party-early-election-results-show\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africans Turn Away From Ruling Party, Early Election Results Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Africans were on edge Thursday as votes trickled in from a tight national election, with early returns showing poor results for the African National Congress, the party that has governed the country for three decades.<\/p>\n

While official results are not expected before the weekend, projections show that the party, known as the A.N.C., is likely to draw under 50 percent of the vote, down from 57.5 percent in the last election five years ago.<\/p>\n

That would mean the A.N.C. \u2014 for the first time \u2014 would need to form a coalition with one or more rival parties in order to stay in power. In South Africa\u2019s parliamentary system, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the leader of the African National Congress, would need the support of members of the opposition in order to serve a second term.<\/p>\n

A weakened A.N.C. would significantly change South African politics, and also its policies, shifting the country away from a government dominated by a single party to one held together by fragile coalitions. This strategy has worked for the A.N.C. in small municipalities, but has been fraught in large cities like Johannesburg, where it has led to political infighting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n