ANC wins South Africa 2014 election with 62 percent

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress won the 2014 national election with 62.16 percent of the votes, the electoral commission said on Friday.

The provisional result shows the ANC’s main rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA), took 22.22 percent, while the ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) managed 6.35 percent.

To win the fifth national elections, the party received 11 436 654 votes, which was less than the 11 650 748 votes (65.9 %) it received in 2009. Its support in Gauteng, the economic heartland of the country, decreased from 64.04% in 2009 to 53.63%, the party’s worst provincial performance in 2014.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) increased its support nationally from 16.66% in 2009 to 22.22% (4 089 043 votes), while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) garnered the third highest support with 6.35% (1 160 208 vote). Among the worst performers was the Congress of the People who had polled 7.42% in the last general elections, but decreased to a mere 0.67% (123 221 votes) this time around.