The ANC is set to remain in charge of the national government, albeit with a declined majority in parliament.

After 99.88% of the national votes had been counted yesterday, the ANC had garnered 57.50% at the national polls. This represents a decline of 4.65 percentage points from the 62.15% it obtained in the previous general elections in 2014.

The outcome means the ANC will see its majority in the National Assembly - or the number of its MPs - declining to about 230 from the 249 seats it secured in 2014.

The DA, for the first time since 2004, will see its growth trajectory take a knock. The opposition party, which has enjoyed a growth in national support of between four and six percentage points in every election over the past 15 years, is now set to drop in support.

It had managed only 3.6-million votes (20.78%) with 99.88% of all national ballots already verified. The party got 22.23% of the votes in 2014.

It is expected that the sixth parliament will see more red overalls and berets among its seats when it convenes for a swearing-in ceremony on May 22.

The EFF has secured about 1.8-million votes, bringing its support base to 10.78% (from 6.35% in 2014). Out of the 48 parties on the national ballot paper, the EFF enjoyed the most growth overall.

At provincial level, the EFF is now the official opposition to the ANC in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and in North West.

In Limpopo, the ANC claimed an overwhelming victory with 75.49%, while the EFF garnered 14.43% and the DA 5.4%.

In Mpumalanga, the ANC saw an 8% loss in support since 2014, bringing its total to 70.58%. The EFF doubled its support in the province to 12.79%, while the DA dropped slightly to 9.77%.

A similar trend was seen in the North West, where the ANC declined in its total support to 61.87% (from 67.39%), the EFF grew to 18.64% and the DA slumped to 11.18%.

Rather unsurprisingly, the DA emerged victorious in the Western Cape, with 1.1-million votes (55.45%) marked - almost double that of its nearest competitor the ANC, which came in at 28.64%. However, both parties suffered a decline in support in the province compared to 2014.

The IFP saw an impressive 5.48% boost in its support in KwaZulu-Natal, bringing its total to 16.34%. This means that the party has unseated the DA as the official opposition to the ANC, which mastered 54.22% in the province - a 10% drop since 2014.

KwaZulu-Natal is the second province after Mpumalanga, where the DA has lost its position as the official opposition.

In the Eastern Cape, the ANC secured an overwhelming majority with 68.74%. This is more than four times its nearest competitor, the DA, at 15.73%. The EFF also doubled its support in the province, from 3.48% in 2014 to 7.84%.

There was a similar trend in the Free State, where the ANC finished on 61.14%, well ahead of the DA on 17.58% and the EFF on 12.58%. Both opposition parties saw steady growth in the province compared to 2014, while the ANC experienced a 8% decline.

The same can also be said for the Northern Cape, where the ANC's numbers declined by about 7% to 57.54%. The DA's support grew to 25.51%, from 23.89% in 2014, while the EFF almost doubled its support base from 4.96% to 9.71%.