The ANC in South Africa’s second-biggest province, KwaZulu-Natal, has accepted defeat there.
It had governed KwaZulu-Natal with an outright majority, but has dropped to third place in this election.
With almost all results in, former President Jacob Zuma’s MK party has emerged as the largest party, with 45% of the vote in elections for the provincial legislature, or parliament.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has taken second spot with 18%, with the ANC’s vote plummeting to 17% – from 54% in the 2019 election.
ANC KwaZulu-Natal spokesman Mafika Mndebele told local TV station Newzroom Afrika the party was “humbled” by the electorate, and it accepted the result.
He added that the party was in contact with other parties to form a stable coalition government in the province.
MK decimated the party’s vote in KwaZulu-Natal after Zuma announced in December that he would campaign for it, as he could not vote for an ANC led by Ramaphosa.
Zuma – whose presidency was dogged by corruption allegations, which he denies – was ousted by Ramaphosa in 2018.
Zuma comes from KwaZulu-Natal, and has always had a fiercely loyal following in the province.
MK is disputing some of the results in KwaZulu-Natal, apparently in the hope that a recount will give it an outright majority, removing the need for a coalition government in the province.
Zuma was the first leader from the province to become South Africa’s president, following the end of white-minority rule.
After he was forced to resign as president, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for defying a court order to cooperate with a judge-led inquiry into corruption during his nine-year presidency.
This conviction means he is not allowed to take a seat in either the national or the provincial parliament, even though he is the MK leader.
He was released by Ramaphosa after serving three months of his sentence, in an attempt to placate his angry supporters who rioted after his imprisonment.
Zuma has repeatedly denied the corruption allegations, saying he was the victim of a political conspiracy.