It is clear from almost all the counts that the former freedom movement ANC loses the parliamentary majority that the party has had in South Africa since the fall of apartheid 30 years ago.
Nelson Mandela's party is certainly the largest. But with 99 percent of the votes counted, ANC has got just over 40 percent of them and needs to find cooperation to form a government and re-elect Cyril Ramaphosa as president.
The final result will be formally announced by the independent electoral commission responsible for yesterday's election. But the opposition is hailing the preliminary figures as a major breakthrough in a country that is still struggling with poverty and inequality.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), gets around 21 percent of the votes, and the former president Jacob Zuma's new party MK comes in third with just over 14 percent.
ANC has been criticized for failing to provide people with basic state services such as water, electricity, and decent housing.
Voter turnout, around 59 percent, is the lowest in South Africa's history, according to the Social Research Foundation for BBC.
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