Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa has declared the African National Congress (ANC) the winner of the 2014 General Election.
In an official announcement of the results at the National Results Operations Centre in Pretoria on Saturday evening, the IEC announced that the ANC clinched 62.15% of the national votes.
The party received 11 436 921 votes, which equals to 249 seats in the National Assembly.
The party is still in control in eight of the country’s provinces, with the exception of the Western Cape, which remains under the Democratic Alliance (DA), with 59.38% of the provincial vote.
Of the 29 parties that contested the elections, only 13 received sufficient votes to have representation in the National Assembly.
The DA increased its support nationally to 22.23% (4 091 584 votes), giving it 89 seats in the National Assembly.
Newcomers, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), emerged as the third most popular party after the ANC and DA, with 6.35%. The party, which was formed eight months ago, received more than one million votes in the national ballot, earning it 25 seats.
It has also become the official opposition in North West and Limpopo provinces.
Making the official announcement on Saturday evening, IEC chair Pansy Tlakula said she was satisfied with how the elections were conducted.
“I hereby, on behalf of the Electoral Commission, declare the 2014 national and provincial elections free and fair,” she told the guests during the ceremony, which was attended by President Jacob Zuma and representatives of most of the political parties that participated in the country’s fifth democratic elections.
Other parties in Parliament
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) received the fourth highest number of votes with 2.4% (441 854 votes).
Its breakaway party, the National Freedom Party (NFP), came in fifth with 1.57% (288 742 votes). This was the first time the NFP contested a national election.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) increased its support from 0.85 % in 2009 to 1% (184 636 votes), with the sixth highest share of votes.
The Freedom Front Plus improved its support from 0.83% in 2009 to 0.9% (165 715 votes), while the African Christian Democratic Party received 0.57% of the vote (104 039 votes).
The Congress of the People received 0.67% (123 221 votes) this time around. Agang SA got 0.28% (52 334 votes) of the national vote.
A total of 251 957 votes were spoilt nationally, up from 239 237 in the last poll, while 18 million of people (73.42%) on the voters’ roll participated in elections.
“As we celebrate two decades of democracy and conclude the 2014 elections, we can affirm democracy is alive and well and thriving in our land,” Tlakula said, adding that there was no stronger symbol of nationhood and inclusivity than participation in an election.
IEC vice-chair Terry Tselane said these elections demonstrated the same spirit the country had in 1994, something he said the nation should be proud of.
Both the African Union (AU) Observer Mission and the Electoral Commission Forum of SADC (ECF) have congratulated South Africa on a free, fair, transparent and credible election. - SAnews.gov.za
