The African National Congress Party of South Africa, the Party led by the late Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid which has held the majority in the state’s parliament for the last three decades, failed to secure a majority in Saturday’s election, NBC News reports.
The ANC secured 40% of the vote, the most of the various Parties on the ballot but for the first time, and needs to form a coalition to maintain control. With the third largest economy and sixth largest population in Africa, South Africa continues to struggle with widespread poverty, and many of the four dozen new opposition Parties challenging ANC leadership to take a new path.
“The way to rescue South Africa is to break the ANC’s majority and we have done that,” said main opposition leader John Steenhuisen of the Democratic Alliance Party which finished second with about 20% of the votes.