Page 3 - South Africa

Would've liked more convincing victory: Markram after SA defeats Windies

Relieved to have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, South Africa captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that the Proteas erred a bit in attempting to finish off the chase against West Indies too soon, leading to an unconvincing victory. South Africa did well to restrict the two-time champions to 135/8. In reply, the Proteas were 15/2 in two overs when rain disrupted proceedings for close to an hour. The South African batters saw the reduced revised target and improved batting conditions after rain as an opportunity to go hammer and tongs at the target of 123 but kept losing wickets as the hosts made things tight. But Makram and his men eventually got the work done. "A lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. Not going to be brain-washed by that. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand," Markram said at the post match presentation. "After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. We did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried t

India to tour South Africa for 4-match T20 series in Nov, announces BCCI

As per the itinerary released by Cricket South Africa (CSA), the series will begin on November 8 at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in Durban

South Africa re-elects Cyril Ramaphosa as president; what happens next?

Two smaller parties, the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party and the right-wing Patriotic Alliance, are also part of the pact

Ramaphosa re-elected South African President as ANC agrees on power-sharing

Ramaphosa won 283 of the votes cast by members of National Assembly on Friday night, and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema 44

South Africa political parties form unity govt amid Prez election deadline

South African lawmakers are expected to elect the country's president on Friday after being sworn in at the first sitting of Parliament that will also reveal the kind of unity government the ruling African National Congress has managed to cobble together after losing its majority for the first time since 1994. The lawmakers are also expected to elect Parliament's new speaker and deputy speaker, choices that will be determined by negotiations that have taken place between the ANC and opposition parties since the country's election results were declared nearly two weeks ago. Parties are under pressure to conclude negotiations by Thursday to fulfil the constitutional requirement to swear in lawmakers and elect the president within 14 days of election results being declared. The African National Congress won 40 per cent of the national vote during the country's highly contested elections, followed by the Democratic Alliance with just over 21 per cent and the newly formed uMkhonto weSizw

S African political party led by Zuma seeks to halt election of president

South Africa's third biggest political party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, has filed legal papers seeking to halt the first sitting of Parliament scheduled for Friday to elect the country's president. Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe Party has said none of its 58 newly elected lawmakers will attend the sitting. The party earlier filed objections with the Independent Electoral Commission alleging widespread irregularities in national elections last month. The party received just over 14% of the vote. The party, also known as MK, has not publicly offered evidence to back up its allegations. The commission has said it has addressed all objections. The legal challenge now asks the Constitutional Court to set aside the commission's decision to declare the election free and fair, and to order the president to call another election. The election saw the ruling African National Congress party lose its majority in parliament for the first time since taking power three decades ago at the end o

Southern African countries launch Schengen-style visa: All you need to know

The KAZA univisa is like to Europe's Schengen Visa, which allows entry into multiple European countries

Palestinian officials seek to join S Africa's UN court case against Israel

Palestinian officials have applied at the top UN court for permission to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. The request published Monday alleges that Israel's ongoing military operation is part of a systematic effort to wipe Palestinian society and its culture and social institutions from the map. The request to the International Court of Justice was made on behalf of the State of Palestine and signed by Palestinian Authority foreign ministry official Ammar Hijazi. South Africa filed its case with the world court late last year accusing Israel of breaching the genocide convention in its military assault that has laid waste to large swaths of Gaza. Israel denies it is committing genocide in its military operation to crush Hamas triggered by the deadly October 7 attacks. Israel is expanding its offensive in the southern city of Rafah, once the main hub of humanitarian aid operations. The Israeli invasion has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and oth

Here's what's next for South Africa, key figures in coalition talks

South Africa's election has decided little, other than the African National Congress that liberated the country from apartheid in 1994 has lost its 30-year majority. It remained the biggest party, though. With no one holding a majority, South Africa's party leaders are embarking on coalition talks to form a government. South Africa has never had to do this due to the ANC's long dominance. There are four major political parties and at least eight with significant shares of the vote after last week's election. It'll be complicated. Here's a guide to some of the key figures and what might be coming next as South Africa enters uncharted territory. PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA Once a protege of Nelson Mandela, Ramaphosa (71) has now overseen the worst election result in the ANC's history. He is under pressure within his own party as well as with voters but he managed to laugh when an official made a slip on Sunday and referred to him as the "extinguished" president rather than distinguish

S Africa's prez urges parties to find common ground after deadlock

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on Sunday for parties to overcome their differences and find "common ground" to form the first national coalition government in the country's young democracy. South Africa announced its final election results on Sunday, confirming that no party won a majority, and unprecedented coalition talks were starting to find a way forward for Africa's most advanced economy. Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) had already lost its 30-year majority after more than 99 per cent of votes were counted by Saturday and showed it couldn't surpass 50 per cent. The ANC received around 40 per cent of the votes in last week's election in the final count, the largest share. Without a majority it will need to agree on a coalition with another party or parties for the first time to co-govern and reelect Ramaphosa for a second term. South Africa's national elections decide how many seats each party gets in Parliament and lawmakers elect the president ...

ANC talking to parties in effort to form stable coalition in South Africa

Humbled by a stinging election result, South Africa's African National Congress was talking to everyone in an effort to form a stable coalition government for Africa's most advanced economy after it lost its 30-year majority, a top party official said Sunday. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party was open to all negotiations, even with the main opposition Democratic Alliance, which has led the chorus of criticism of the ANC for years but is viewed by many analysts as the most stable coalition option for South Africa. The ANC won just over 40% of the vote in Wednesday's election to lose its long dominance of South African politics. The ANC remained the biggest party but it means the country will likely have to form a coalition government for the first time since it achieved democracy with the end of the apartheid system in 1994. The DA won the second most votes with 21% and the two parties would hold a majority together and be able to govern. That doesn't mean it will

S Africa's election authority to declare results June 2 despite Zuma threat

South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission said it will continue to declare on Sunday afternoon the final results of the country's general and provincial elections despite threats to postpone the process to allow further submissions on alleged irregularities. At a media briefing late on Saturday, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) CEO Mosotho Moepya confirmed that the authority will work through the night to resolve the 579 objections that have been received in order to proceed with the scheduled declaration, at which President Cyril Ramaphosa will speak. Moepya expressed confidence in the transparency of the systems put in place by the IEC to ensure "credible, free and fair elections". Earlier in the evening, former president Jacob Zuma, speaking on behalf of 26 of the smaller parties in the election, called on the IEC to allow them more time to lodge what he said were many more "serious" objections that the parties needed to prepare information on, although he did not sha

ANC loses majority in Parliament for first time in South African democracy

The African National Congress (ANC) party lost its majority in the South African Parliament on Saturday for the first time since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first democratic elections in 1994 at the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule. With the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) having finished counting 99.8 per cent of the ballots cast on Wednesday, the ANC had garnered only 40 per cent of the votes, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) coming in at 22 per cent; Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the new party founded by former president Jacob Zuma, securing almost 15 per cent and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) dropping its share to just nine per cent. Analysts across the board said that there would now be intense negotiations to decide who would govern the country in a coalition. I don't think that the ANC membership, us as leaders of the ANC and our supporters must see this as a signal of the end of the ANC. This must be a learning point for the ANC. It's a

ANC loses 30-year majority in South Africa's landmark election

The African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in a historic election result Saturday that puts South Africa on a new political path for the first time since the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule 30 years ago. With more than 99% of votes counted, the once-dominant ANC had received just over 40% in Wednesday's election, well short of the majority it had held since the famed all-race vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought it to power under Nelson Mandela. The final results are still to be formally declared by the independent electoral commission that ran the election, but the ANC cannot pass 50%. At the start of the election, the commission said it would formally declare the results by Sunday, but that could come earlier. While opposition parties have hailed the result as a momentous breakthrough for a country struggling with deep poverty and inequality, the ANC remained the biggest party by some way. However, it will now likely need to loo

S Africa polls to end 3 decades of ANC dominance as votes slashed to 40%

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), had 21.71 per cent and uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, managed to grab 14.76 per cent

South Africa heads closer to coalition govt as ANC's vote share drops

Incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has ruled South Africa since the advent of democracy 30 years ago, is likely to lose its majority after voters overwhelmingly turned to alternative parties in the just-concluded polls, with a coalition government now most likely. General elections were held in South Africa on May 29 to elect a new 400-member National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the nine provinces. As vote counting continued at lunchtime on Friday, the ANC received only 42% of the confirmed 62% of votes cast. The Democratic Alliance was next with 23%. Analysts had earlier predicted that the ANC would not get more than 42%. The ANC has been worst affected by the emergence of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party formed by former president Jacob Zuma, who was ousted by the ANC after huge public outcries about his alleged role in enabling massive looting of state resources. In Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Nat

S Africa heads for 'coalition country' as partial results put ANC below 50%

South Africa was heading closer to the reality of a national coalition government for the first time Friday as partial election results put the ruling African Nation Congress well short of a majority. With more than half of votes counted across the country's nine provinces, the ANC had received just under 42% of the national vote, according to the early results as counting continued. That represented a huge drop from the 57.5% it received in the last national election in 2019, although the final results from Wednesday's election have not yet been declared. The commission that runs the election said those would be announced by Sunday, although they could come sooner. The count from more than 12,000 of the 23,000 polling stations raised the strong possibility that the ANC would need a coalition partner to form a government and reelect President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second and final term. The frenzied negotiations were likely set to start behind closed doors. The ANC was still leadin

South Africans begin voting in most competitive election since apartheid

Voter dissatisfaction over high rates of unemployment and crime, frequent power blackouts and corruption in party ranks lies behind the ANC's gradual fall from grace

S Africa's IEC optimistic about record turnout for nations' general polls

South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) remained optimistic that a record number of voters would show up on Wednesday for the country's general elections. At a media briefing on Tuesday evening, the IEC said it was buoyed by the 937,144 voters on the second and final day of the special voting which was scheduled for those who would be working on election day or unable to go to polling stations due to disability, old age, or other reasons. This figure is much higher than was the case in the previous elections and augurs well for an improved voter turnout tomorrow, said IEC Chief Executive Sy Mamabolo. Commending the election commission's staff, he said, We are impressed with the diligence of the electoral staff who visited voters at homes and places of confinement in order to administer home visits." "This category of voters would otherwise have been unable to record their political choices, he added. Mamabolo said the Commission, however, remained concerned about ..

S Africa polls: How Mandela's once revered ANC lost its way with scandals

For years, the African National Congress rose above politics in South Africa. It was a movement dedicated to freeing Black people from the oppression of white minority rule and to the lofty principle of democracy, equality and a better life for all South Africans. It was widely revered as a force for good under Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for his opposition to the apartheid system of racial segregation. But 30 years after the ANC transformed from a liberation organisation to a political party in government at the end of apartheid in 1994, it faces growing dissatisfaction from South Africans who feel it has failed to live up to its promises. South Africans will vote on May 29 in a national election that could be the biggest rejection yet of the ANC, which has governed one of Africa's most important countries largely unchallenged since it led the fight to bring down apartheid. Now, the ANC is for many a byword for graft and failed government. Here's how the famous pa