JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday there was no place for threats of violence or instability after last week’s elections cost his African National Congress (ANC) party its majority for the first time.
The result, announced on Sunday, was the worst election result for the ANC, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, once led by Nelson Mandela, since it came to power 30 years ago and ended white minority rule.
Voters angry about unemployment, inequality and rolling power outages cut support for the ANC to 40.2%, down from 57.5% in the previous parliamentary vote in 2019.
The result means the ANC will have to share power, likely with a major political rival, to retain it – an unprecedented prospect in South Africa’s post-apartheid history.
“This moment in our country calls for responsible leadership and constructive engagement,” Ramaphosa told the nation in a weekly newsletter. “There is no place for threats of violence or instability.”
The sharp decline in ANC support has fueled speculation that Ramaphosa’s days could be numbered, either due to the demands of a potential coalition partner or due to an internal leadership challenge.
But so far senior party officials have publicly backed him, and analysts say he has no clear successor.
Former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe party has said it is considering a legal challenge to the election results, despite performing far better than many expected, finishing in third place with 14.6% of the vote.
Analysts have long feared Zuma’s party will cause trouble if his supporters, who rioted and looted for days when he was arrested for contempt of court in 2021, reject the results.
Ramaphosa added: “South Africans must remain steadfast against any attempt to undermine the constitutional order… for which so many have fought and sacrificed.”
(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
