What's Next for South Africa Following the ANC's Historic Electoral Defeat

The African National Congress (ANC) party's historic defeat in South Africa's general election will test the party's internal cohesion as it seeks allies to form a government with the center-right Democratic Alliance party, which would likely bolster investor confidence in the country, but also raise the risk of politically-motivated violence in the short term. On June 2, South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa's ruling ANC had gathered 40.18% of votes in the country's May 29 general election, stripping the party of a parliamentary majority for the first time since democratic elections were held following the end of apartheid. The ANC will now only hold 159 out of 400 seats in the National Assembly, a sharp decline from the 230 seats the party secured in the 2019 general election. This electoral defeat was accompanied by a surge in support for former President Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto We...