JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has secured 159 out of 400 seats in the National Assembly in the country's 2024 general elections, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officially announced on Sunday evening.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), came second with 87 seats in the National Assembly, followed by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party with 58 seats and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 39 seats, according to the official election results released by the IEC at the Results Operation Center (ROC) in Midrand, Johannesburg.

READ MORE: South Africa heads for coalition as ANC set for big fall

More than 27 million South Africans took part in the 2024 national and provincial elections on May 29 to elect a new National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

In the end, no party won an outright majority in the National Assembly. The ANC got less than 200 seats it needed to maintain its 30-year-old unchallenged dominance in the lower house of parliament

In the end, no party won an outright majority in the National Assembly. The ANC got less than 200 seats it needed to maintain its 30-year-old unchallenged dominance in the lower house of parliament.

READ MORE: South Africa election set to end three decades of ANC dominance

While announcing the final results, IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya declared the 2024 general elections as "free and fair".

Calling them "the most difficult and highly contested elections" since the end of apartheid in 1994, Moepya said this year's elections were not without their challenges, as attempts to undermine the credibility of the IEC had been made.

In his speech after the announcement of election results, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it "represents a victory for our democracy, for our constitutional order and for all the people of South Africa."

"We have held another successful election that has been free, fair and peaceful," said Ramaphosa. "Our people have spoken. As the leaders of political parties, as all those who occupy positions of responsibility in society, we have heard the voices of our people and we must respect their wishes."

"And now, we are all called upon to recognize that the results of the election reflect the will of the people," he added.

Following Sunday's official announcement of the election results, the newly elected National Assembly will have 14 days to hold its first sitting, where members will elect the president of South Africa for the next five years by a simple majority.

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Ramaphosa called on South Africa's political parties to work together for the good of the country as final results from last week's election confirmed that ANC had lost its majority for the first time.

Sunday's result is the worst election showing for the ANC - Africa's oldest liberation movement, once led by Nelson Mandela - since it came to power 30 years ago, ending white minority rule.

Sunday's result is the worst election showing for the ANC - Africa's oldest liberation movement, once led by Nelson Mandela - since it came to power 30 years ago, ending white minority rule

The result means that the ANC must now share power, likely with a major political rival, in order to keep it - an unprecedented prospect in South Africa's post-apartheid history.

The ANC's leadership will meet on Tuesday to plot the path forward.

The main opposition party, the white-led, pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA), received 21.8 percent of votes.

uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) - "spear of the nation" in the Zulu language - a new party led by former President Jacob Zuma named after the ANC's former armed wing, managed to take 14.6 percent, doing most of the damage to the ANC.

Despite doing better than expected, MK said it was considering challenging the results in court.

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The far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by former ANC youth leader Julius Malema, got 9.5 percent.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said on the party's YouTube channel that it had named a team to begin talks with other parties with the aim of preventing such an alliance, which he called a "doomsday coalition".

The small Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a conservative Zulu party with a power base in KwaZulu-Natal province that won nearly 4 percent of the vote, was to meet separately on Sunday to discuss its next steps.

Local media reported that the DA could be open to entering a cooperation pact with the ANC, supporting it in key decisions in exchange for top jobs in parliament. The IFP would also be part of such a deal.

With Reuters inputs