South Africa elections 2024: Malema says open to coalition talks

South Africa's far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will speak to all political parties about forming part of a new government after this week's election, its leader Julius Malema said on Saturday.

"We will engage will all political parties with an appreciation that a government should be constituted within the next 14 days," Malema told reporters at the vote counting centre in Johannesburg.

With more than 98 percent of the votes from Wednesday's election counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress had only 40.15 percent support.

Data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held second place with 21.71 percent, slightly up on its 20.77 showing in 2019.

Zuma's party

In third place was former president Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) on 12.6 percent, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief.

The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was in fourth with 9.4 percent.

The final results were to be formally announced on Sunday, but the IEC results website was being updated through the day and with the result no longer in doubt, politicians were turning their attention to the prospects of an ANC-led coalition.

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