South Africa leader under pressure after election blow

With almost all the votes in, the ANC is on 40% - down from 58% at the previous election.

This is lower than the party's feared worse-case scenario of 45%, analysts say,

The ANC has always polled above 50% since the country's first democratic elections in 1994, which saw Nelson Mandela become president.

But support for the party has been dropping significantly due to anger over high levels of corruption, unemployment and crime.

Citing the cost-of-living crisis and frequent power-cuts, a woman told the BBC she ended a 30 year voting streak for the ANC in favour of the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) this time.

"This result is not good. I wanted it out of government. We need to give someone else a chance," she said

The final results will be announced at 18:00 local time (17:00 BST) on Sunday, the BBC understands.

The ANC leadership has begun to consult internally to prepare for complex coalition talks.

Its options are the DA, which is in second place on 22%, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party led by former President Jacob Zuma, on 15%, or the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 9%.

Both the EFF and MK advocate seizing white-owned land and nationalising the country's mines.

The MK has said it would be prepared to work with the ANC, but not while it was led by Mr Ramaphosa.

He replaced Mr Zuma as both president and ANC leader following a bitter power struggle in 2018.

MK supporters have been celebrating overnight in Durban, the biggest city in the party's heartland of KwaZulu-Natal province. The party was only formed in December.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe said his party was unlikely to form an alliance with the DA.

He said there would have to be "policy alignment" between parties to form a coalition agreement.

For the ANC, its black empowerment policies - aimed at giving black people a stake in the economy following their exclusion during the racist apartheid era - were "non-negotiable".

Support for the DA has grown in this election

He added that any coalition partner would have to agree to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which promises universal health care for all, signed into law earlier this month.

The DA opposes both the NHI and the ANC's black empowerment policies.

When will we get the results?

Despite the ANC's reluctance to align with the DA, its leader John Steenhuisen hasn't ruled out the idea.

But if an alliance with the ANC was reached there would be a few non-negotiables, he said.

"Respect for the rule of law and the constitution, a social market economy that treats the private sector as partners in the growth agenda.

"Zero tolerance for corruption and cadre deployment, and an absolute laser-like focus on economic policies that grow jobs."

Mr Steenhuisen also told the BBC he would have to consult pre-election coalition partners before considering any negotiations.

But he ruled out the EFF and the MK party as potential coalition partners.

"I think instability is not in the best interest of the country. A coalition with the radical left in South Africa of the MK party and the EFF will produce the same policies that destroyed Zimbabwe, destroyed Venezuela," he said.

Another option would be to work with the EFF, led by Julius Malema, a former ANC youth leader. The two parties currently form the coalition that runs the country's biggest city, Johannesburg.

A record 70 parties and 11 independents were running, with South Africans voting for a new parliament and nine provincial legislatures.

The DA has signed a pact with 10 of them, agreeing to form a coalition government if they get enough votes to dislodge the ANC from power.

But this does not include the EFF or MK, who would be needed to form a majority.

As the parties scramble to form alliances, Kenya's former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is leading the African Union election observer mission in South Africa, offered some advice for forming coalitions.

He said coalition governments need to focus on areas of agreement instead of differences.

"I can only wish them well and hope that the leadership will take this decision by the people in a positive frame," he said.

-bbc