Official results from South Africa's election were expected to confirm on Sunday the end of the African National Congress' 30 years of majority governing and start the clock on a race to form a new ruling coalition.

Voters, angry at joblessness, inequality and power shortages, slashed support for the ANC – the former liberation movement of the late Nelson Mandela – to 40 percent in Wednesday's election, down from 57.5 percent in the 2019 parliamentary vote.

That means it must now share power, likely with a major political rival, in order to keep it – an unprecedented prospect since the end of white minority rule in 1994.

From the official announcement of results expected on Sunday evening, political parties will have two weeks to work out a deal before a new parliament sits to choose a president, who would likely still emerge from the ANC as the biggest party.

"The ANC is committed to the formation of a government that reflects the will of the people, that is stable and that is able to govern effectively," Fikile Mbalula, the party's secretary general, said at a press briefing on Sunday.

He said the ANC would be having discussions both internally and with other parties to create national and provisional governments "that reflect the will of the people and that are able to take the country forward".

However, he said that the ANC would not bend to pressure from other parties that incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa must step down as a condition for forming a coalition. "That is a no-go area," he said.

The ANC's performance has fuelled speculation that Ramaphosa's days might be numbered, either due to the potential demands of a prospective coalition partner or as a result of an internal leadership challenge.

Counting from the May 29 poll was almost complete on Sunday morning, with results in from 99.9 percent of polling stations.

Before Wednesday, the ANC had won every national election by a landslide since 1994, but over the last decade its support has dwindled as the economy stagnated, unemployment rose and roads and power stations crumbled. (Reuters)