South Africa's governing party holds on to power with lowest vote share since 1994

The African National Congress, Nelson Mandela's former liberation movement and the political party that has governed South Africa since 1994, was close to victory in the country's elections on Saturday, but with its lowest vote share since coming to power.

The party won 57.5 percent of the vote, with its closest competitor and main opposition, the Democratic Alliance, tallying 20.79 percent. But 60 percent is considered an important threshold in South African elections, The New York Times reports. The ANC has never before dipped below that line. The closest contest was in the province of Gauteng, home to Johannesburg and Pretoria, the economic and political capitals of South Africa, respectively. The ANC was barely clinging to a majority in the province.

The vote reportedly reflects widespread disillusionment among South Africans who are angered by corruption scandals, continued racial inequality, and high unemployment rates.

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The ANC will have enough seats in parliament to give President Cyril Ramaphosa another five years in office, but he will have to contend with intra-party rivals who oppose his reforms.