Johannesburg: The African National Congress (ANC) has won a commanding victory in South Africa's general election with a majority of 249 seats in the National Assembly, the country's Independent Electoral Commission announced Saturday.
This victory secured President Jacob Zuma's second term.
"Thirty political parties out of the 29 which contested got representation in the National Assembly," Pansy Tlakula, chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), told a press conference.
She said the ANC has won 249 out of the 400 seats in parliament.
The ANC, which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, had 264 seats in the outgoing legislature.
This is the lowest number of seats to be held by the ANC in the National Assembly in 20 years, according to Anadolu Agency reporter.
While the ANC secured 62.16 percent of the votes, dropping from 65.9 percent in 2009, the Democratic Alliance remains the official opposition with 22.22 percent, up from 16.66 percent in 2009, and the newly-formed Economic Freedom Fighters came in third with 6.35 percent, Xinhua reported.
Some 18,654,457 people voted Wednesday to elect the 400-member National Assembly and nine provincial parliaments, with a voter turnout of nearly 73.4 percent.
Some 25,381,293 people were registered to cast their ballots.
South Africa employs a proportional representation electoral system in which parties are represented in the National Assembly and in provincial parliaments in direct proportion to their electoral support.
The National Assembly has 400 members, half of them elected from the national list and half from among the nine provincial lists.
South Africa has nine provinces, each of which has a unicameral legislature.
The president will be chosen by the National Assembly after the election.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Experts reject 'fear' that Modi as PM will militarize Indian MuslimsThe Muslim community leaders and experts Friday strongly condemned and rejected th report published in The Guardian that if BJP gets the majority and form the new government moderate Muslims in India will be encouraged to join extremist .... More
Also Read: Will there be a surprise end to Modi's tale?
'Election' massacres of Muslims darken India immigration debateThe worst outbreak of communal violence in the northeastern region since 2012 has compounded fears among Muslims living along the India-Bangladesh border who feel they are being .... More
This is a very significant development because the leaders of the 11 parties have indicated that individual parties can go in for seat arrangements in their respective states. Right now they together have 92 seats in the current Lok Sabha. .... More
In a letter dashed to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Thursday a local NGO asserted that Reliance Industries Chief Mukesh Ambani had grabbed Waqf land by fraudulent means and urged the minister to initiate a high-level enquiry by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Ambani and others involved in the case.. ... More
Also Read: Shame on Ambani who occupied land of orphans: Asaduddin