The ruling African National Congress last night came within a whisker of obtaining a two-thirds majority, winning 266 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, one short of the 267 required.
The final, verified results were announced at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) operational centre in Pretoria last night and televised lived throughout the country. The Democratic Party (DP) secured second position, winning 38 seats in the National Assembly against 34 won by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
The ANC, having already won seven of the nine provinces, emerged as the biggest party in the Western Cape by a single seat. It won 18 seats against the 17 won by the New National Party (NNP), the successor to the National Party which ruled South Africa for 46 years.
In KwaZulu-Natal, where a comparably intense election battle was fought, the ANC was edged into second place by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party. The ANC won 32 seats against the 34 secured by the IFP. In both of these provinces the Democratic Party was the third-biggest party and could thus tip the balance in favour of either of the strongest two parties by throwing in its lot with them. The DP leader, Mr Tony Leon, however, pledged during the election campaign that his party would not join the ANC in a coalition government at either national or provincial level.
In the Western Cape the NNP was still involved in negotiations with possible coalition partners, of which the DP is one, to help it retain power in the province. There were reports yesterday, however, of division within its ranks over whether a coalition should be formed with the DP or the ANC.
In what many observers believed might be a sign of developments to come, the Deputy President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, last night invited Chief Buthelezi to join him on the podium to officially receive the results. He told the audience that he did so on the instructions of the outgoing President Nelson Mandela. The gesture heightened speculation that Mr Mbeki would invite Chief Buthelezi to serve as deputy president in the new administration.
Commenting on the election result Mr Mbeki quoted from W.B. Yeats's The Second Coming. The election proved that the centre had held and that South Africa was safe from anarchy and things falling apart, he said to applause.