he electoral commission has announced almost 60% of the count. Here are how the top five parties currently stand:
ANC – 42%
DA – 23%
MK – 12%
EFF – 9%
IFP – 3%
The seats in the 400-member National Assembly directly reflect the share of the vote that each party receives.
The new MPs then go on to elect the next president. As things look now, some form of coalition will need to be agreed in order for a president to be elected.
South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has made a huge impact in this election.
His new party, uMkonto weSizwe (MK), which translates as Spear of the Natioon, has captured votes from the African National Congress (ANC), bringing down its parliamentary majority.
ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe at a DA desk at the results centre
It’s performing so strongly that it is currently in third spot – ahead of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
MK’s growth is extraordinary. It was registered only last September, with the 82-year-old Mr Zuma, a member of the ANC since the age of 17, announcing in December that he was joining it as he could not vote for a Ramaphosa-led ANC.
Since then, MK has shaken up South African politics in a way no party has done in such a short period of time – at least not since the end of the racist system of apartheid 30 years ago.
And Mr Zuma has achieved this despite the fact that he is a convicted criminal, barred from taking a seat in the new parliament.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt after he defied a court order to appear before an inquiry looking into corruption during his nine-year presidency.
He was released by President Cyril Ramaphosa after he served three months of his sentence.
Mr Ramaphosa is bound to regret the decision as Mr Zuma has now clobbered his party – the ANC – in the election.
