For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: ANC on course to lose majority in South Africa's seismic election; Govt urges public to avoid sharing information seeking to declare election results; And, South Africa to stay course on rates amid election noise

 

ANC on course to lose majority in South Africa's seismic election

The African National Congress looked set today to lose the parliamentary majority it has held for 30 years, as partial election results suggested it would need a partner to stay in power - a first in South Africa's post-apartheid history.

If the final results confirm the loss of its majority, the ANC will be forced to make a deal with one or more other parties to govern - a situation that could lead to political volatility in the coming weeks or months.

With results in from 20.4%% of polling stations, the ANC's share of the vote in Wednesday's election stood at 43.4%, with the pro-business Democratic Alliance on 24.8%, data from the electoral commission showed on Thursday.

The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters party was on 8.8%, while uMkhonto we Sizwe Party, a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was snapping at its heels on 8.1%, with support concentrated in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

 

 

Govt urges public to avoid sharing information seeking to declare election results

As the vote counting process in South Africa unfolds, Government Communication and Information System acting director-general Nomonde Mnukwa has urged the public to refrain from sharing information in the form of pictures and videos that seek to declare elections results or incite violence pertaining to elections results.

Mnukwa explained that election results will be announced officially by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, as the body that is legally mandated to announce elections results, she said.

South Africans voted on Wednesday in what has been termed the most crucial election the country has held since the transition to democracy, with the governing African National Congress widely expected to lose its majority.

Government noted that successfully holding the election was a clear sign that South Africa had concluded another milestone in its democratic journey with the election characterised by high voter turnout, which, she said, affirmed that citizens were exercising their fundamental Constitutional responsibility to vote.

 

 

And, South Africa to stay course on rates amid election noise

South Africa’s central bank is set to leave interest rates unchanged, staying the course in the inflation fight amid political uncertainty one day after the country’s tightest election in 30 years.

Economists polled by Bloomberg expect Governor Lesetja Kganyago’s monetary policy committee will keep the benchmark rate at a 15-year high of 8.25% today, when he announces the decision. Most surveyed in a separate poll also expect the decision, which comes a day after elections, to be unanimous.

The bar for a rate cut has not been cleared yet, said Nedbank Group chief economist Nicky Weimar.

Although inflation eased for a second straight month in April to 5.2%, it remains above the midpoint of the central bank’s 3% to 6% target range. Kganyago, who was reappointed to a third five-year term in March, has repeatedly said it will only adjust policy once inflation slows to the midpoint and stabilises there.

 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA