(Bloomberg) -- The rand gained for a third day as the ruling African National Congress appeared to be heading to a convincing win in national elections, potentially strengthening President Cyril Ramaphosa's hand as he implements reforms to revive a flagging economy.
With close to two-thirds of ballots counted, the ANC had 56.8 percent of the vote, according to the Independent Electoral Commission's website. That majority could rise to 57.7 percent, a research institute projected, well above the 54.5 percent in nationwide municipal elections in 2016. The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, had 22.5 percent, down from 27 percent.
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The rand advanced 0.4% to 14.3242 per dollar by 8:11 p.m. in Johannesburg, even as most emerging-market currencies weakened on concern the U.S.-China trade war is about to escalate.
Ramaphosa needs a decisive win to quell opposition in the faction-riven ANC to give him the clout to restructure debt-ridden state-owned companies and combat corruption in Africa's most-industrialized economy. A loss of support could have emboldened his critics and limited his policy options.
Ramaphosa Faces Moment of Truth as South Africa Counts Votes
Voting for the 400-member National Assembly and nine provincial legislatures ran until 9 p.m on Wednesday, with final results scheduled to be released by May 11. A first meeting of the new parliament has been provisionally set for May 22. The president is officially elected at that sitting.
To contact the reporter on this story: Colleen Goko in Johannesburg at cgoko2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dana El Baltaji at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net, Robert Brand, Mike Cohen
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