The short answer is that after 90 days, another election must be held, but this is unlikely to happen.

With the ANC likely to fall under 50% in Wednesday's general election, I am often asked, what would happen if a government (or coalition) simply can't be formed?

The short answer is that after 90 days, another election must be held, but this is unlikely to happen.

After the counting of the ballots at the polling stations, the results will be forwarded to the Electoral Commission of SA's (IEC's) national counting centre at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng. Once the IEC has received all the results and is happy that there are no major disputes or problems, the chairperson of the IEC will announce the result -- most probably four to five days after the election.

From that moment, the Chief Justice will have 14 days to convene Parliament. At that meeting, newly elected members will be sworn in, after which they must elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The Chief Justice will then call for nominations for the position of President. There is no limitation on the number of nominations and MPs must vote by secret ballot.

In the past, there was never any question that the ANC candidate would win, since more than 50% of the MPs were...