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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 7 (UPI) _ The ruling African National Congress has
swept to victory in South Africa's second democratic general election.
The final results show the ANC took 66.35
percent of the vote, giving it 266 of the 400 seats in Parliament, one short of the
majority.
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki will formally
take over leadership of the country from Nelson Mandela, who is retiring from politics.
The presidential inauguration is set for June 16, or Youth Day. On this date South
Africans commemorate the 1976 Soweto uprising.
Joining the ANC in Parliament will be 12
opposition parties. There were seven opposition parties in the outgoing legislature.
Taking their place as the official opposition
will be the big gainers in this election, the liberal Democratic Party (DP), which
won 9.56 percent of the vote for 38 seats. The party held seven seats after the 1994
election.
The other is Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi's
Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), whose 8.58 percent of the vote gives
it 34 seats (nine fewer than 1994).
The New National Party (NNP), successor
to the apartheid ruling party, saw its support shrink to a third of 1994 levels,
obtaining just 6.87 percent of the vote to take 28 seats (82 after 1994).
Making a reasonable showing first time out
was Bantu Holomisa's United Democratic Movement (UDM), with 3,42 percent of the vote
for 14 seats.
In addition to an overwhelming majority
in Parliament, the ANC will rule seven out of the nine provinces. The only provinces
where the ANC did not achieve an outright majority were the two it lost in 1994 _
KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
The ANC was just one seat short from obtaining
a two-third majority in parliament. At the announcement of the final results by Independent
Electoral Commission chairperson Dr Brigalia Bam, senior ANC official Essop Pahad
shrugged off the lack a two-thirds majority. Pahad said it had been an issue for
the opposition, but not for the ANC, which he said merely wanted an overwhelming
mandate from voters.
The ANC now has a resounding mandate to
continue with its transformation policies, aimed at undoing 40 years of institutionalized
racism.
For the ordinary people of South Africa,
the past five years have brought many tangible gains, such as access to water, electricity,
basic health care and housing.
While there are still undoubtedly many serious
problems, particularly crime and unemployment, most South Africans regard the ANC
as being on the right track.
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