With more than 97 percent of the votes counted, the results indicate that the ruling ANC will lose its majority and be forced to seek coalition partners.

After more than 97 percent of the votes have been counted, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is in the lead with just over 40 percent of the vote. national votethree days after the country voted national elections This could pose the greatest challenge to the ANC's political dominance since the end of apartheid in South Africa.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the country's largest opposition party, is currently in second place, followed by the MK Party and the EFF.

Here is the position of the four largest parties according to the latest information from the Election Commission (IEC).

Results by province

The ANC currently holds the lead in seven of South Africa's nine provinces. In five of these provinces, it has over 50 percent of the vote: Limpopo (74 percent), Eastern Cape (64 percent), North West (59 percent), Free State (53 percent) and Mpumalanga (52 percent). In Northern Cape (49 percent) and Gauteng (36 percent), the ANC currently holds the majority of the vote, but may need coalition partners to form a government.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) is on track to remain in government in the Western Cape province (53 percent), which it has done since 2009.

And in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), former President Jacob Zuma's MK party has the most votes with around 46 percent, ahead of the ANC, which only achieved around 18 percent.

What happens if no party gets a majority?

If the ANC does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, it must form a coalition with other parties. GovernmentThe choice of coalition partner will depend on how much support is needed to exceed the 50 percent mark.

Which parties are strongest in the race?

The four major players to watch in this year's elections are the ANC, the DA, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Previous election results

The ANC has won every national election since the end of apartheid in 1994, when Nelson Mandela became the country's first black president.

In 1994, the ANC received 62.5 percent of the vote. In 1999, it received 66.4 percent. In 2004, it reached its highest share of the vote with almost 70 percent. In 2009, it received almost 66 percent and in 2014, it received 62 percent.

In the last election in 2019, the ANC achieved its smallest lead with 57.5 percent of the vote.

In the last five elections, the DA came second.

Parties in the current National Assembly

The lower house of Parliament is currently represented by 400 MPs from 14 political parties. Seats are allocated proportionally based on the votes each party received in the 2019 election.

• ANC: 230 seats (57.5 percent)
• AND: 84 seats (21 percent)
• EFF: 44 seats (11 percent)
• Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP): 14 seats (3.5 percent)

The remaining 28 seats are shared by ten other parties.

How is the president elected?

South Africans do not elect the president directly.

Instead, they elect members of the National Assembly, who then elect the president by a simple majority – 201 or more votes are needed to determine the presidency.

If the ANC wins the majority, 71-year-old President Cyril Ramaphosa is likely to be re-elected for his second and final five-year term.

When will the final results be announced?

In the last national election on May 8, 2019, the final results were announced three days later.

However, since there is one more vote to be counted this year, verifying the results may take longer.

The IEC announces that it will announce the election results on Sunday.