Political situation in South Africa

Analysis: The ANC's fight has become one for survival

The ANC's struggle to win the elections in South Africa has been replaced by a struggle to survive the loss, writes Sky News' Yousra Elbagir in an analysis.

If the ANC wants to retain government power, it must now come to an agreement with one or more opposition parties. And those parties have not infrequently felt overlooked during the ANC's decades-long autocratic rule.

"Now that the wind has turned, they cheerfully charge up to make demands," writes Elbagir.

In DN, Erik Esbjörnsson points out that according to the constitution, the ANC also only has two weeks to present a possible government.

"The ANC is now forced to make major concessions if they are to retain power and the path choice the party must make, under severe time pressure, will have major consequences for the country's domestic and foreign policy," he writes.

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ANC must find a partner: "Like two drunks in Vegas"

For the first time since the fall of apartheid, the ANC has failed to gather its own majority in a South African election. However, everything indicates that they will still form a government - if they can find a government partner. This is reported by AFP.

Former ANC president Jacob Zuma's fledgling MK party has said it is not prepared to negotiate with incumbent ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.

The second largest party, the Democratic Alliance, claims to be "open to dialogue", but has at the same time been the ANC's harshest critic during the mandate period.

- It would be like two drunk people getting married in Las Vegas. It would never last, says Gayton McKenzie, leader of the smaller Patriotic Alliance party.

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ANC's fiasco complete: "It will never be the same"

South Africa's ruling party ANC is headed for an even worse election than the forecasts on election day had predicted. With 98 percent of the votes counted, the ANC is at 40.1 percent – ​​a drop of over 17 percentage points compared to the election five years ago.

It is the first time that the ANC, which was led by Nelson Mandela after the fall of the apartheid regime in 1994, did not get its own majority. The party must now form a coalition government. President Cyril Ramaphosa is said to want to enter into government cooperation with the largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance.

The South African newspaper Mail & Guardian writes on Saturday morning that the election result means a historic upheaval for South Africa.

"South Africa's political landscape will never be the same."