• Nearly 99% of votes have been counted and verified nationally
• The ANC is set to lose its three decades of political dominance
• It has 40% of votes nationally and cannot reach the 50% needed to be able to govern the country alone

• This means the ANC will have to form a coalition government with one or more smaller parties
• Trailing behind are the DA on 22%, MK on 15%, the EFF on 10% and the IFP with 4%
• The EFF has lost its status as South Africa's second-biggest opposition party to MK, led by former President Jacob Zuma
• The DA has failed to make big gains among black voters - it has had only marginal growth - from 21% in 2019 to 22% this time
• MK is falling short of winning an outright majority in KwaZulu-Natal - its political stronghold
• The party is demanding a manual recount
• Political deals will be made behind the scenes, but the ANC could be open to sharing power with the DA and IFP
• Fractious relations with Zuma may make a deal between his MK party and the ANC unlikely
• The other option would be a deal with the radical EFF
• Voter turnout stands at nearly 59%, the lowest in South Africa history
• Final results are set to be announced on Sunday evening

Image source, Getty Images

Velenkosini Hlabisa, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader, has just addressed the media to say that given South Africa’s changing political landscape and a new era of coalition politics, he sees an important role for his party. It is currently in fifth place, with 3.9% of the vote.

“IFP is going to be a game-changer,” he said about the party which draws its support mainly from ethnic Zulus in KwaZulu-Natal province.

“The IFP will make an informed decision in the best interest of people of South Africa - but we are not desperate to get into a coalition for the sake of coalition,” he told journalists at the election results centre.

At a provincial level with 99% of votes counted, the ANC has lost control of the KwaZulu-Natal to ex-President Jacob Zuma’s new MK party, while the IFP has increased its share of the votes from 16% in 2019 to 18% this year.

Nationally the IFP has also slightly increased from the 3.4% it got in 2019.

However, this would not be enough to form a majority with the ANC alone - they would still another partner.

Hlabisa added that he was happy with how the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was handling the counting process, adding he felt calls by various parties for a recount was unnecessary given party agents were present initially.

The voter turnout in this election is the lowest in South Africa's history, a think-tank says.

It stands at nearly 59% with 99% of votes tallied so far.

This may surprise some who saw the long queues on election day, which saw thousands queueing late into the night to cast their ballots.

Image source, AFP

The low turnout is partly linked to the voter apathy in ANC strongholds and an extra vote, which made it complicated for people to vote, Gabriel Makin, an associate at the Social Research Foundation, told the BBC's Weekend programme on the World Service.

For the first time, independent candidates were allowed to run in the elections, which meant voters were issued with three ballot papers instead of two.

Voter turnout in the 2019 national elections was 66%.

South Africa’s voter turnout has been in constant decline since the 2009 election, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

After the governing African National Congress (ANC), the biggest loser in this election is the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema.

The EFF has lost it status as South Africa's second-biggest opposition party to a first-time contestant - former President Jacob Zuma's new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), which translates as Spear of the Nation.

With nearly all results declared, the EFF is standing at 9%, down from the 11% it got in the last election.

MK's vote is standing at 15%, with the party having picked up votes from the ANC and EFF.

This is a huge blow to Malema and the EFF.

He has ambitions to one day become South Africa's president, and had hoped that the EFF would take second spot in this election, making him the leader of the biggest opposition party.

But that dream was shattered by the electorate.

• Read more: Julius Malema - South Africa's radical agenda-setter

Nomvula Mokonyane, the ANC’s deputy secretary-general, refused to give much away when she was surrounded by reporters at the party’s desk in the election results centre in Johannesburg earlier.

She maintained the mood was all “peace and harmony” - something she hoped would be reflected around the country.

When she was joined a few minutes later by ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe, journalists again crowded around them - but he would not to be drawn into giving a statement.

He said the ANC would be talking to “everyone and everybody”.

The atmosphere does seem to be harmonious at the results centre.

Mantashe then wandered off to chat to the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)’s Floyd Shivambu.

The public broadcaster SABC says they were joking with each other, with Mantashe saying in Xhosa something along the lines of: “You’re talking about our decline, we should be talking also about your decline?”

The EFF has lost its position as the third largest party to MK, led by former President Jacob Zuma, which was only formed in December.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

With the governing African National Congress (ANC) performing dismally in this election, you would expect the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), to grow exponentially.

But its growth has been very little - from 21% in 2019 to 22% in this election.

It's clear that the DA - long seen as a party of racial minorities - has failed to make big gains among black voters.

Instead, the DA has won back white voters it lost in the 2019 election - when it was under a black leader, Mmusi Maimane - to a party to its right.

Maimane resigned after that election, and the DA once again chose a white leader, John Steenhuisen.

He has brought back the DA's support to the percentage it got in 2014 - 22%.

So this election shows that South African politics remains racially polarised - three decades after the end of white-minority rule.

• Read more: The DA leader vowing to 'rescue' South Africa

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Durban

Ex-President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party has lodged a complaint with South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)

With 98% of votes tallied so far, MK is falling short of winning an outright majority at a provincial level in KwaZulu-Natal.

Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela has said the IEC numbers do not tally with numbers they have collected on the ground and are therefore demanding a manual recount of votes.

Ndhlela has appealed to MK supporters not to resort to violence.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The official election results are set to be announced on Sunday evening, an electoral official says.

Vote tallying is entering the final stages, with results already in from 98% of districts.

Mawethu Mosery, the electoral commission deputy CEO, told eNCA TV that the poll body would sit throughout the night on Saturday to deal with objections and appeals.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) is set to lose its three decades of political dominance after a stunning drop in support.

Image source, Getty Images

Obed Bapela, a senior member of the African National Congress (ANC), has told the BBC he does not think the election in South Africa should be regarded as a “disaster” for the party - as some pollsters have put it.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster - because it is the maturity of democracy, we have seen it elsewhere in the world. After 25 years of being a leading party, the decline begins - and we have been seeing this decline,” he told the Weekend programme on the BBC World Service.

In the election in 2019 the ANC took 57% of the vote.

“However it’s a shock, I must say that we are at 40% because we thought we’d decline to around 51% - that was our prediction realising that there are new kids on the block," Bapela said.

“It will remain a shock for a period until we sit, we engage and discuss… and we’ll accept, obviously, the results.”

The first sign of “unhappiness” with the ANC came in the 2016 local elections when the party lost in big cities and had to govern in coalitions, he said.

“Elections in South Africa today are no longer about liberation credentials, ending apartheid, it’s more about: 'What is it for us the voters?'” said Bapela, who most recently held the position of deputy minister of public enterprises.

It was things like the lack of electricity and unemployment - both problems that started in 2008 and have become worse - that galvanised voters to come out and vote against the party, he said.

When it came to a coalition, he said there would be a meeting of the ANC’s “top seven” today to reflect on results as it was clear with 98% of results counted the party would not get 50%

“They will then discuss what will be the best model, so there are various options they are looking at.”

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Reuters

Given the results, the ANC leadership has begun to consult internally to prepare for complex coalition talks.

The new MK party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, has said it won’t partner with the ANC as long as President Cyril Ramaphosa remains the leader. It’s in third place after cutting into the ANC’s vote share with a surprisingly strong showing.

The pro-business Democratic Alliance has come second. But there will be resistance within the ANC to its free-market agenda and its reputation as a party for the white minority.

An analyst told me that one option the ANC is considering is to issue an open invitation for talks to opposition parties.

That might lessen the internal blowback from making a clear move itself, because the DA would probably take up such an invitation, whereas the MK would not.

South Africans have voted for change after years of ANC economic mismanagement and corruption scandals. They are waiting to see if the alternative does any better.

Image source, EPA

Will President Cyril Ramaphosa resign? That's the question some South Africans are asking after he led the ANC to its most disastrous election result ever.

We don't yet know the answer to that question as the president has not spoken - something he is unlikely to do until the final results are declared.

For now, what we know is this: the electorate has drained him of his power.

Nomsa Maseko
BBC News, Durban

A long convoy of cars with flags of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the new party headed by ex-President Jacob Zuma, was seen hooting and celebrating through Durban last night.

It is the main city of KwaZulu-Natal province, the political heartland of Mr Zuma who has dealt a blow to his former party, the African National Congress (ANC).

Not surprisingly after a night of heavy partying, all is quiet here this morning.

But with 98% of votes counted, coalition talks will be beginning.

MK has taken over from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) as the third-largest party, completely changing South Africa’s political landscape.

But MK has said it will not partner with the ANC as long as President Cyril Ramaphosa remains the leader.

Mr Ramaphosa took over as president and leader of the ANC in 2018 after Mr Zuma was forced to resign following allegations of corruption in his presidency, which he has always denied.

Image source, Getty Images

With ballots now counted from 98% of voting districts, here's how the top five parties currently stand:

• ANC - 40%
• DA - 22%
• MK - 15%
• EFF - 9%
• IFP - 4%

These figures from the electoral commission have changed since we updated you last evening, when results from 75% of the voting districts were in.

Since then, ANC has fallen from 42% to 40%, the MK Party has edged up a little to 15% while EFF remains at 9% of the vote share.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

The vote of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) has collapsed to 40% with nearly all ballots counted.

The result is calamitous for a party that Nelson Mandela led to a resounding victory after the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

It has lost its parliamentary majority for the first time, but the extent of the loss will come as a huge shock to President Cyril Ramaphosa and his party.

Many pundits predicted that the party would come close to 50% and, in the worst-case scenario, close to 45%.

The ANC now stands at 40% after results from 97% of voting districts were declared by the electoral commission.

The party will be forced to enter into a coalition, ushering in a new era for South African politics.

The elections were held on 29 May.

Welcome to our live coverage of the aftermath of South Africa’s general election. With 97% of votes counted, parties are gearing up for coalition talks as the African National Congress (ANC) certain to lose its outright majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.

Image source, Getty Images

This is where were stopping our updates for now but we'll be back on Saturday morning to catch more reaction to the results as they come in.

As we've been saying, it looks like the ANC has lost its outright majority in parliament and will have to find coalition partners with whom to govern in the future.

Currently, with results from more than 80% of voting districts declared, the ANC's support now stands at 41%.

There will be lots to look out for on Saturday, including a promised press conference from the ANC as it digests the outcome - though the final figures may not be known until Sunday.

You can get news updates on bbcafrica.com.

And you can keep across the results as they come in on the electoral commission's website., external

Anthony Irungu
BBC News, Johannesburg

Election observers from both the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) say they saw political party tents camped in front of voting stations, which they said may have "intimidated voters or unduly influenced their decisions".

Both the AU and Sadc missions have raised concerns that failures and delays caused by voter management technology during the polls may have interfered with the integrity of the election, including disenfranchising voters in some polling stations.

Despite these challenges, the AU observer mission head Uhuru Kenyatta expressed optimism about the overall process, saying South Africans "have been very patient, they have been very understanding, and by extension, very peaceful".

Election observers are encouraging all complainants to formally log their grievances.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

I have been speaking to a female voter who said that she cast her ballot for the ANC in every election since black people first got the vote in 1994, but this time she switched to the DA, the main opposition party.

She said this was because power cuts had worsened since President Cyril Ramaphosa took office in 2018, making food more expensive for her when there was already a cost-of-living crisis.

"We used to buy in bulk because it was cheaper, and keep it in the freezer. But the power cuts [of up to 12 hours a day] meant we could not do that anymore, and we were struggling to buy food," she said.

She also cited another reason for her decision to abandon the ANC - it imposed one of the most strict lockdowns in the world during the Covid pandemic, causing many small businesses to shut.

"People have become jobless. They have no income," she said.

She therefore decided that it was enough of "ANC ANC ANC" in government, and voted for "change".

In fact, she said she was disappointed that the ANC will remain the largest party, and will remain at the helm of a coalition government.

"This result is not good. I wanted it out of government. We need to give someone else a chance," she said.

Mohammed Allie
BBC News, Cape Town

Image source, Getty Images

Final results aren't expected until the end of Friday, but it's already clear that the DA is set to govern the Western Cape province with 55% of the vote so far - trailed by the ANC on 18% and Patriotic Alliance on 9%.

The DA, which campaigned in the mixed-race coloured community, performed well-above expectations.

"If you had told me the results would turn out like this before Wednesday’s elections, I wouldn’t have believed you," Cheslyn Steenberg, the party’s regional secretary told the BBC.

"Our campaign was based on the living realities of people - there are nearly 600,000 people on the waiting list for housing," Mr Steenberg added.

What has come as a surprise to many in this part of South Africa is the poor electoral performance of well-known activist Zackie Achmat, who had stood as an independent candidate.

He was a founder of the Treatment Action Campaign, a non-governmental organisation that forced the government to provide better health care services for HIV-positive people.

By mid-afternoon on Friday Mr Achmat he had received around 4,000 votes, well short of the projected figure of 45,000 required to secure a seat in parliament.

"If you look at how small parties and independents have done, we've performed really badly in electoral terms," Mr Achmat told Cape Talk radio station on Friday.

"What we are seeing is the destruction that the ANC has wrought upon working-class people's lives that have left millions of people in our country desperate, hungry, without work and without safety. The solution people are looking for is very simple: 'Who can we blame for this?'

"I find the moment in the country extremely painful and dangerous. I think it's critical that the good people in the ANC and the good people in every political party and the Democratic Alliance sit down and talk about how we prevent chaos in our country," Mr Achmat, himself a former ANC member, added.

Image source, Getty Images

With ballots now counted from 75% of the voting districts, here's how the top five parties currently stand:

• ANC - 42%
• DA - 23%
• MK - 13%
• EFF - 9%
• IFP - 3%

These figures from the electoral commission are almost identical since the last time we updated you three hours ago, when results from just over 71% of the voting districts were in.

Since then, the MK Party has edged up a little to 13%, while the EFF is down slightly to 9% of the vote share.