DHAKA: The ruling African National Congress party (ANC) has won a landslide victory in South Africa's fifth democratic election, the country's Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has said.

Addressing the country in a glitzy ceremony on Saturday evening in Pretoria, Pansy Tlakula, chair of the IEC, said the ANC won 249 out of a possible 400 seats.

Tlakula said that 18 million South Africans had stood together as a nation during the election.

"There is no more tangible symbol of nationhood and inclusivity than participation in an election," Tlakula said.

The IEC said the ANC had managed to gain 62.2 percent of the vote, while the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), ended in second place with 22.2 percent of the vote.

Responding to the result, President Jacob Zuma said the victory "reconfirmed how deeply rooted the ANC is in the hearts and minds of the majority of South Africans.

"It is an affirmation of our assertion that South Africa has a good story to tell," Zuma said.

In the previous election, in 2009, the ANC received 65.9 percent of votes cast and the DA had 16.6 percent

Source: Al-Jazeera

BDST: 1025 HRS, MAY 11, 2014