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South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) has suggested forming a government of national unity after losing its parliamentary majority in last week's elections.

It says it has reached out to all parties but negotiations are still underway.

"The results indicate that the South Africans want all parties to work together," ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told journalists.

The ANC got about 40% of the vote, with the center-right Democratic Alliance (DA) on 22%, the MK party of former President Jacob Zuma on 15% and the radical Economic Freedom Fighters on 9%.

This was the first time the ANC had lost its majority since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first democratic elections following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.

Under South Africa's proportional representation system, any government would need to be formed of parties which together got more than 50% of the vote.

Ms Bhengu-Motsiri said the ANC has had discussions with the DA, the EFF and other smaller parties.

She revealed that despite reaching out to MK, there has been no positive response.

The ANC spokesperson added that the ANC would like to resolve this quickly as parliament convene in less than two weeks.

Its first priority will be to elect a president to form the next government.