That's it for our coverage of the aftermath of this historic South African election.

On Sunday, it was confirmed that the ANC - the party that led the struggle against white-minority rule and has been dominant for three decades - lost its parliamentary majority.

It will now have to find coalition partners.

That could be the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), whose leader John Steenhuisen urged other politicians to put "narrow sectarian interests aside".

Or, the ANC could look at the DA plus a host of other parties and form what could be called a government of national unity.

And then there's a possible ANC coalition with the very successful, newly formed MK, as well as the EFF - both of which came out of the ANC. However, the MK has already said it will not accept Mr Ramaphosa as president, and the ANC said it would not compromise on this.

The new parliament will meet in 14 days - in the past, that has been when the president has been elected, but the new set of MPs may have a little more time to elect the country's head of state.

We'll be covering all the developments here at BBC News Online.

Final results from the general election have given the governing African National Congress 159 seats in the 400-seat parliament.

Despite remaining the largest party, this represents a major failure for the ANC, which has had an overwhelming majority in every parliament since it came to power 30 years ago.

Speaking earlier after the final results were declared, President Cyril Ramaphosa said all parties must find common ground and work together for the good of everyone.

Watch the clip below:

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Durban

A speech by MK party leader Jacob Zuma last night has left some of his supporters confused and not knowing whether to celebrate or not.

Some of them hosted a barbecue at Kwa-Ximba township. They told the BBC that while they were pleased with the ANC's humiliating defeat, they believe that their votes were stolen.

Thye also told the BBC that they would not resort to violence and would wait for their leader, Zuma, to chart a way forward for them.

During the official announcement of the KwaZulu-Natal province poll results, election official Ntombifuthi Masinga recognised that there were some errors.

"We have picked up some errors, but fortunately we haven't gazetted the results yet," she said. "So, if an error is picked up, there is a mechanism to deal with that."

Bruno Garcez
BBC News, Johannesburg

Johannesburg faced a sudden strong downpour tonight, which seemed to keep some people at home.

Things were quiet even in the normally bustling Vilakazi Street, a vibrant area in the township of Soweto that hosts the former houses of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

It also hosts a strip of busy bars, including the legendary Sakhumzi restaurant. But the few visitors that were there tonight seemed more caught up in their conversations and their drinks than the announcement of the official results of the election.

The staff seemed somewhat perplexed when the BBC team asked if the channel could be switched from a sports transmission to the broadcast of the results and if the volume of the music could be lowered.

By the end, staff and visitors seemed relieved.

The results, with the ANC now officially having lost its majority, raised no eyebrows.

And the people attending the bar could go back to their tasty beef stews and drinks, and listening to a soundtrack of soul music classics.

Most importantly, we now know how many seats each party will have in parliament - and the announcement from the electoral commission confirms that the ANC will have to go into a coalition to form the next government.

The numbers for the biggest parties in the 400-member National Assembly are:

• ANC - 159 seats
• DA - 87 seats
• MK - 58 seats
• EFF - 39 seats
• IFP - 17 seats
• PA - 9 seats

We also heard plenty of other things, including:

• The ANC has ruled out Cyril Ramaphosa stepping down as president despite the dismal result
• These were most difficult elections in South African history, according to election officials
• Police are warning people not to foment instability
• The parties are now eyeing coalition talks, and the DA is calling the possibility of an ANC deal with the EFF and MK a 'doomsday' coalition

• President Ramaphosa is putting on a brave face amid the ANC's poor showing, saying the people want the parties to find common ground

Leading anti-apartheid activist Frank Chikane has just been on local TV, saying he will not speak, as an ANC member, about the election result.

"For today, we celebrate democracy," he said.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Let me give you a quick idea of how a president is chosen in South Africa.

Now that the final results from the general election are declared, the new parliament will convene within two weeks.

Normally, that is also when a new president is elected by the new MPs, but I've heard legal experts say that this can be delayed for a month.

If no agreement is reached by then, a fresh general election has to be called.

So gone are the days when the ANC uses its parliamentary majority to elect the president.

As only 40% of the new MPs will be from the ANC, it will need the votes of MPs from other parties as the president has to be elected by majority of MPs.

Senior ANC official Fikile Mbalula has said that Mr Ramaphosa remains its candidate, and the party will not agree to a coalition with any party that demands his resignation.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

In some African states, ruling parties rig election results to stay in power - or inflate their majority.

But here in South Africa, the ANC - led by President Cyril Ramaphosa - has gracefully accepted that it has lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to power in 1994.

"The people shall govern," Mr Ramaphosa said, referring to the main slogan of the ANC when it was a liberation movement fighting to end white-minority rule.

"Our people have spoken, whether we like it or not," he added.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

Many activists who fought the apartheid regime are filled with sadness.

Their once-glorious movement, the African National Congress (ANC), has lost the confidence of the majority of voters.

And yet it was once etched in the hearts of most South Africans, as it campaigned since 1912 for black people to win the right to elect their own government.

This was finally achieved, with the ANC's rise to power, under the leadership of the revered Nelson Mandela, in South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.

It won that election with a 63% majority, and reached its electoral peak 10 years later when - under the presidency of Thabo Mbeki - it won 70% of the vote.

Today, it has only 40% of the vote - which means that six out of 10 voters have rejected it.

As one anti-apartheid activist told me: "Mandela will be turning in his grave."

And with that, President Cyril Ramaphosa leaves the results hall, escorted by security and entourage:

Image source, SABC

"Over the past 30 years, we have strived together to build a country which everyone – black and white, man and women, young and old – can call home," President Ramaphosa says, somewhat wistfully.

"We thank the people of South Africa for once again giving life and meaning to the values and principles of our constitutional democracy," he adds.

"This is the time for all of us to put South Africa first. The people of this country expect and deserve no less."

And with that the president finishes his first comments since his party suffered a huge blow at the ballot box.

President Cyril Ramaphosa took a moment to thank former leader of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan and former leader of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta for observing the elections.

"What this election has made plain is that the people of South Africa expect their leaders to work together to meet their needs," President Ramaphosa continues.

"They expect the parties for which they voted to find common ground, to overcome their differences, for the good of everyone."

Remember that for the first time in three decades, the ANC has been forced into a coalition if it wants to remain in power.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has accepted the will of the South African people after suffering a blow in the election.

"Our people have spoken whether we like it or not," he says.

"Through their votes they have demonstrated clearly and plainly that our democracy is strong and it is enduring."

He adds that after 30 years South Africans should be grateful their democracy works.

"We must respect their choices and their wishes."

Image source, SABC

"Instead of saying 'distinguished', you called me 'extinguished'," President Cyril Ramaphosa has joked, playfully telling people in the hall that the election chair prematurely wrote him off.

He's begun his speech in a friendly and upbeat tone, at what is a trying time for his ANC party.

This is the first time he is speaking since his party's dismal poll results.

The electoral commission has announced how the seats will be distributed in the 400-member National Assembly - they are shared out in direct proportion to the vote.

Here are the top parties:

• ANC - 159 seats
• DA- 87 seats
• MK - 58 -seats
• EFF - 39 seats
• IFP - 17 seats
• PA - 9 seats

The remainder of the seats went to smaller parties.

This confirms that the ANC will have to go into a coalition to form the next government.

People in the hall have cheered, following the announcement by Mosotho Moepya, the chair of South Africa's electoral body, that these 2024 elections were "free and fair".

"Let us celebrate this achievement while remaining vigilant - for the work of strengthening democracy is one that never ends."

Image source, SABC

Just before the results are announced the chairman of the electoral commission Mosotho Moepya says they represent "the collective voice of our nation".

Image source, SABC

Looking around this room "I see a very beautiful history of where this nation has been and back", says the chairman of the electoral commission, Mosotho Moepya says.

"These elections have tested the strength of our democracy, and shown the strength of our institutions," he adds.

"These elections were undoubtedly the most difficult and the most hotly contested."

He also called it a "pivotal juncture in South African history".

The election chief Sy Mambolo took a moment to emphasise how South African democracy has influenced the region.

He said South Africa's 30 year transition from an apartheid state to a multiparty democracy has helped promote "democratic governance, peace and development on the continent".

"Elections are not an end in themselves, but an instrument of national and continental development."