Many political analysts have pinpointed the Democratic Alliance (DA) as the best option for the African National Congress (ANC) to enter into coalition talks.
The ANC emerged victorious at the elections but failed to win an outright majority as the party only secured 40.1% of the total votes. This meant it needed to enter coalition talks, with rivals the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) among the parties who could side with the ANC.
Also read: The votes are in: Here are the final results for SA’s 2024 elections
However, many political analysts feel the DA is the best market-friendly option, The Citizen reported.
‘A DA-ANC coalition is what the markets will respond to positively. An ANC-MK-EFF coalition is what markets will respond to negatively,’ University of Johannesburg (UJ) professor Dirk Kotze said.
Kotze also said the ANC were expected to perform poorly.
Independent analyst Sindile Swana said the ANC’s hegemony is broken and that this year’s elections bring ‘an atmosphere of coalitions’ and all parties should be humble and understand that citizens are all equal.
The DA’s Dangerous Political Conditioning Strategy is in play | A Caution to Our Black Leaders and the Black Population in South Africa as Coalition Discussions are in full swing to form our new government
The Black population must recognize this strategy for what it is—a… pic.twitter.com/aIhZwQ0zFx
— Vimlesh Rajbansi (@VimleshRajbansi) June 3, 2024
According to ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, the ANC is willing to ‘talk to anyone’ and said the results show the clear direction the country is going in.
‘It is clear that the ANC has won most votes and remains a popular party with six million people having voted for us. The ANC also achieved decisive majorities in five provinces,’ he said.
Mbalula said the ANC acknowledges the decline in support but said it will have talks with other parties on how best to take the country forward.
[ICYMI] “The fact that we have lost several votes means that we need a moment of reflection. The mood within ANC at this moment is dampened by what has befallen us.” ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula takes stock of election results.#Newzroom405 #ElectionsResults… pic.twitter.com/Acy8WHTfwN
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) June 3, 2024
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Picture: @jsteenhuisen / X
Words: Matthew Petersen / African Insider
