International News
South Africa Set For Political Shake-Up After Historic Vote
South Africa’s ruling ANC was on track to score its worst electoral result ever on Friday, with early tallies showing voters deserted the party in droves, ending its 30-year political dominance.
If the African National Congress (ANC) is confirmed as dropping below 50 percent of the vote, it would force the party to seek coalition partners to be re-elected to form a new government.
That would mark an historic evolution in the country’s democratic journey, as the party has enjoyed an absolute parliamentary majority since 1994.
With more than 55 percent of votes in Wednesday’s general election counted, the ANC was leading but with a score of 42 percent — well below the 57 percent it won in 2019.
As votes continued to be validated, data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held a secure second place with 24 percent of preferences.
It was followed by former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) on 11 percent and the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on 10 percent.
The final results are expected in the next couple of days.
IEC’s website was briefly down on Friday due to technical problems.
“The data in the data centre remains intact and the results have not been compromised,” the IEC said, after apologising for the issue.
“All services have since been restored and the leaderboard is working normal. Result processing continues unaffected.”
Once led by late anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, the ANC has dominated South Africa’s democracy with an unbroken run of five presidents from the party.
‘Unpredictable partners’
The ANC remains respected for its leading role in overthrowing white minority rule and its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies are credited by supporters with helping millions of black families out of poverty.
But over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in a series of large-scale corruption scandals.
The continent’s most industrialised economy has languished, and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.
Voting was marked by hours-long queues in many districts, which in some cases forced polls to remain open well beyond the scheduled closing time.
Experts are split over which party the ANC would prefer as bedfellows and on whether the poor performance threatened President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership.
Some have predicted the party will patch up ties with one or both of the radical left groups led by former ANC figures: firebrand Julius Malema’s EFF or Zuma’s MK.
In a major upset, the latter was leading with 44 percent of votes in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, a key electoral battleground.
“The MK has really eaten into the ANC’s vote,” Siphamandla Zondi, a politics professor from the University of Johannesburg, told AFP.
Others, like analyst and author Susan Booysen, said the rift between Ramaphosa and Zuma — who has long been bitter about the way he was forced out of office in 2018 — was “too far reaching” to mend.
The ANC might prefer the centre-right DA, which pledged to “rescue South Africa” through better governance, free market reforms and privatisations, to the leftist EFF, which is perceived as “too erratic” and “unpredictable” in its demands, she added.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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