Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane on Friday said he was celebrating his party's achievements in the May 8 general elections.

"Look, when I look at where this party [the DA] is ... I came here to celebrate. We have retained the Western Cape, and we are contesting in Gauteng. In the same way I came here in 2016 speaking about cities, I've now come to speak about provinces. That's the first crucial issue," said Maimane, who was mobbed by journalists in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) national results operations centre (ROC) west of Pretoria.

"Yes, it was a tough contested election. One of the things that has happened is that the ruling party has successfully put a new driver in a bus that is broken. I cannot dismiss that. Globally, when you look at someone like Angela Merkel [German Chancellor] who ran an incredible economy and populist economics came out, and said we want Germany for Germans, and she lost support. So this a global trend we are swimming against. I've spent the past 18 months speaking of one South Africa for all when others were saying your mense and others were saying we're for black people."

Maimane on Friday congratulated African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa as counting of votes from the sixth general elections draws close to an end.

With the results captured at the IEC's ROC in Pretoria showing the ANC's firm lead, journalists asked Maimane if he had communicated with Ramaphosa.

He responded: "I'm waiting to speak to him and I will organise that. That's not a problem. I don't have a problem. I believe in contesting elections freely and fairly. He [Ramaphosa] ran a strong campaign as we did, and you know what, I think it's a good culture".

"I will say to him, and I say to him here - firstly Mr Ramaphosa we have serious challenges in this country. You do the things that are right about making sure that citizens are able to create wealth and a market-based economy, that we uphold the Constitution of the Republic, that we continue to build a non-racial South Africa, we eradicate corruption and build a capable state ... you will have my support. If you don't do those things and put the ANC above the people of this country, then I cannot stand for that."

Maimane sent out his congratulations: "I wanna congratulate him, but I also wanna say to the people of this country whoever wins must have the mandate of the people."

The IEC on Friday announced that it had passed the 90 percent mark in respect of the number of voting stations captured.