South Africa elections: ANC set to win with reduced majority

Johannesburg [South Africa], May 11 (ANI): The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party, is set to win the country's parliamentary elections but with a diminished majority, the country's election commission said on Friday.
According to unofficial results released by the commission, the ANC has a strong lead with just over 57 per cent of the votes. So far, 90 per cent of the votes have been counted, CNN reported.
However, the ANC's voter support has never fallen below 60 per cent, since the end of apartheid in 1994, the commission said.
The fall in vote share comes as the ruling party has its task cut out to take steps in strengthening South Africa's stagnated economy, besides improving its image, which took a hit after corruption allegations involving former president Jacob Zuma and others surfaced.
In the 2009 and 2014 elections, the ANC won 66 per cent and 62 per cent of voter support respectively.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is way behind the electoral race, garnering just under 21 per cent of total vote share.
The decline in ANC's vote share was predicted owing to several reasons. In the 2016 local elections, the party had faced a steep decline in support, and it lost some key cities to opposition parties.
The ruling party also faces widespread apathy among voters born after apartheid, known as the born-free generation.
The turnout for this year's general elections too witnessed a drop, with around 65 per cent of the people exercising their franchise, reflecting a general voter apathy towards political parties and their promises.
Ramaphosa, who assumed power last year, has promised to crack down on corruption prevalent in the ANC.
In the 2014 general elections, the ANC had emerged victorious in 249 seats, down from 264 that it won in the 2009 polls.
South Africa has a parliamentary system of government. The country's National Assembly comprises 400 members.
The final results is expected to be announced on Saturday. (ANI)