An ANC unity government with the DA would win plaudits from the markets but also invite criticism that the party is selling out.
Economic Freedom Fighters
There are now effectively two ANCs: the ANC of current leader Cyril Ramaphosa, and the ANC of Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema.
The ANC failure to win a majority of National Assembly seats marks the start of a new, potentially unwieldy era of coalition politics in South Africa.
The African National Congress faces the prospects of failing to secure a majority for the first time since the fall of apartheid.