South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa will continue to serve as the head of the African National Congress (ANC), the party's secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, said during Sunday's press conference on election results.
However, he did agree that the ANC was moving into "the era of coalitions," regardless of whether or not it liked it. In this regard, the party is "talking to everybody" in an effort to identify coalition partners.
Furthermore, Mbalula also admitted the decline in the party's support but promised that the ANC will do its best to rectify the situation.
"The results show a significant decline in the ANC support from previous elections. While there are several factors that have contributed to the decline in support, the results sent a clear message to the ANC. We wish to assure the people of South Africa that we […] we have heard their concerns, their frustration, and their dissatisfaction. Over the last six years, the ANC has been engaged in a process of renewal and revitalization. […] We want to assure the people of South Africa that the ANC will not turn its back on renewal," he said.
Mbalula stated that the ANC's low performance was mostly due to the fact that there were serious power outages and water shortages in the country.
The secretary-general also said that in the new term, the party is dedicated to enhancing the upkeep of infrastructure and the delivery of services in communities throughout the nation.
Aside from that, Mbalula strongly urged people to obey the law and to oppose any efforts that were made to discredit the results.
South Africa's ANC party gained 40.22% voter support after processing ballots from 99.9% of polling stations, according to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa as of June 2, 17:00 local time.
According to its data, the Democratic Alliance party is in second place— 21.76%. It is followed by the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, whose leader is former South African President Jacob Zuma, with 14.6%, and the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters with 9.52%.
On late Saturday, South Africa's presidency announced that Ramaphosa will participate in the official election result announcement ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 17:20 at the National Results Operations Centre at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, not far from Johannesburg.