South Africa election results: Counting underway after crucial vote

Votes are being counted after what is considered South Africa’s closest election since the African National Congress (ANC) came to power 30 years ago.

Long lines snaked outside polling stations across the country.

An electoral official in Johannesburg told the BBC that the queues were reminiscent of the historic 1994 elections, when black people could vote for the first time and which saw Nelson Mandela become president.

Many people were still waiting to vote when polls officially closed at 9:00 p.m. local time (19:00 GMT), but the electoral commission said they would all be allowed to vote.

The first results will begin to fall on Thursday morning and the final results are expected over the weekend.

The ANC lost support due to anger over high levels of corruption, crime and unemployment. Opinion polls suggest he could lose his majority in parliament.

Sifiso Buthelezi, who voted at Joubert Park in Johannesburg – South Africa’s largest polling station – told the BBC: “Freedom is beautiful but we have to fight corruption.”

Change is a recurring sentiment, particularly among younger voters.

Ayanda Hlekwane, one of South Africa’s ‘born frees’, meaning born after 1994, said that despite having three degrees, he still had no job.

“I’m working on my PhD proposal so that I can return to study in case I don’t find work,” he told the BBC in Durban.

But Mr Hlekwane said he was optimistic things would change.

A record 70 parties and 11 independents were in the running, with South Africans voting for a new parliament and nine provincial legislatures.

Analysts say this shows that many people are disillusioned with the ANC.

“We are entering the next phase of our democracy, and it is going to be a big transition,” political analyst Richard Calland told the BBC.

“Either we will become a more competitive and mature democracy, or our politics will become more fractured.”

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has signed an agreement with 10 other parties, agreeing to form a coalition government if they win enough votes to oust the ANC from power.

But this is highly unlikely, since the ANC is expected to remain the largest party, putting it in pole position to lead a coalition if its support drops below 50%.

It received 57.5% of the vote in the last election, compared to 21% for the DA.

South Africans do not vote directly for a president. Instead, they vote for members of Parliament who will then elect the president.

Current President Cyril Ramaphosa should therefore remain in power.

Former president Jacob Zuma caused a major shock when he announced in December that he was abandoning the ANC to campaign for a new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), which translates to Spear of the Nation.

Although he was not allowed to run in the parliamentary elections due to a contempt of court conviction, his name still appeared on the ballot papers as MK leader.

The MP is expected to do particularly well in Mr Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, where tensions have been high, with some incidents of violence reported during the campaign.

Police and the army were deployed to polling stations across the country to ensure voting took place peacefully and ballot papers were not stolen.

More than 27 million people have registered to vote, 55% of them women, according to statistics released by the electoral commission.

In terms of age group, voter registration was highest among people aged 30 to 39. They represent nearly seven million of the 26.7 million voters.

Young people could tilt this election in their favor.

Artist Njabulo Hlophe, 28, said young people in South Africa tend to be marginalized, but “it’s as much our country as our parents… they let us do it, so someone who really cares about young people is someone.” I’m really watching.”

Support for the ANC is expected to be higher among the older generation.

Elayne Dykman, an 89-year-old woman, told the BBC in Durban that she hoped South Africa’s young people would not take their vote for granted.

Additional reporting by Anne Soy in Durban and Barbara Plett Usher in Soweto