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| A.N.C. Solidifies Lead in Latest South African Vote Count | A.N.C. Solidifies Lead in Latest South African Vote Count |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JOHANNESBURG — With counting virtually complete on Friday after South Africa’s fifth all-race elections, results showed the long-governing African National Congress securing another big victory, even though the party fell short of its goal of a two-thirds majority. | JOHANNESBURG — With counting virtually complete on Friday after South Africa’s fifth all-race elections, results showed the long-governing African National Congress securing another big victory, even though the party fell short of its goal of a two-thirds majority. |
| The Independent Electoral Commission said that, with the vote from 95 percent of districts counted, the A.N.C. led with 62.5 percent. That result was in keeping with projections that the party, mired in corruption scandals and headed by the unpopular President Jacob G. Zuma, would shed a few percentage points compared with the last general election, in 2009, when it won 65.9 percent. | The Independent Electoral Commission said that, with the vote from 95 percent of districts counted, the A.N.C. led with 62.5 percent. That result was in keeping with projections that the party, mired in corruption scandals and headed by the unpopular President Jacob G. Zuma, would shed a few percentage points compared with the last general election, in 2009, when it won 65.9 percent. |
| The figures mean that the A.N.C. is assured of a majority in the 400-seat Parliament, which formally appoints the president, effectively guaranteeing that Mr. Zuma, who has battled charges of corruption and rape in recent years, will win a second term. | The figures mean that the A.N.C. is assured of a majority in the 400-seat Parliament, which formally appoints the president, effectively guaranteeing that Mr. Zuma, who has battled charges of corruption and rape in recent years, will win a second term. |
| The dominance of the A.N.C. cloaked some other important shifts. The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in Parliament, seemed to have increased its share of the vote from roughly 17 percent in 2009 to around 22 percent, while the radical Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the populist Julius Malema and running in their first election, was coming in at just over six percent, placing the group third, ahead of all other minority challengers. | The dominance of the A.N.C. cloaked some other important shifts. The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in Parliament, seemed to have increased its share of the vote from roughly 17 percent in 2009 to around 22 percent, while the radical Economic Freedom Fighters, led by the populist Julius Malema and running in their first election, was coming in at just over six percent, placing the group third, ahead of all other minority challengers. |
| Mr. Malema sought to draw support from South Africa’s many unemployed young people, promising a huge redistribution of wealth. The near-complete results showed that more than a million South Africans were drawn to that message, voting for Mr. Malema and his red-bereted followers. Some young South Africans — the so-called born frees who grew up with no exposure to apartheid — were voting for the first time. | |
| A projection by the South African Broadcasting Corporation said the results could yield 23 parliamentary seats for Mr. Malema’s year-old party — a more emphatic entry into the legislature than his critics had predicted. While the A.N.C. itself was likely to shed only three seats, with 261, and maintain its control of Parliament, the projection said, the Democratic Alliance could increase its share significantly from 67 seats to 90. | |
| Most of the gains seemed to come at the expense of smaller parties, including the Congress of the People, formed in 2008 to challenge the A.N.C., and the Inkatha Freedom Party, which is rooted in Mr. Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal and was once a powerful force there. The Congress of the People was likely to see its number of seats drop from 30 to 2, while the presence of the Inkatha Freedom Party could be halved, from 18 to 9, according to the projection. | |
| Voter turnout was just over 73 percent, the provisional results showed. | Voter turnout was just over 73 percent, the provisional results showed. |
| South African analysts are also likely to focus on a provincial vote held at the same time as the national election on Wednesday in which the Democratic Alliance maintained its hold on the Western Cape, while other provinces remained under the control of the A.N.C. | South African analysts are also likely to focus on a provincial vote held at the same time as the national election on Wednesday in which the Democratic Alliance maintained its hold on the Western Cape, while other provinces remained under the control of the A.N.C. |
| A.N.C. officials, appearing on television throughout Thursday, seemed relieved at the outcome, which reflected the A.N.C.'s dominance since the party, then under Nelson Mandela, won the first democratic election in 1994. | A.N.C. officials, appearing on television throughout Thursday, seemed relieved at the outcome, which reflected the A.N.C.'s dominance since the party, then under Nelson Mandela, won the first democratic election in 1994. |