- South Africans began voting on Wednesday
- Polling stations opened around 7 a.m.
- More than 27 million South Africans are registered to vote
South Africans began voting on Wednesday in the most competitive election since the end of apartheid, with opinion polls suggesting the African National Congress (ANC) will lose its parliamentary majority after 30 years in government.
Polling stations opened around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), with voters queuing at some locations including Hitekani Primary School in the vast township of Soweto near Johannesburg, where President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to vote later.
Key points about the elections:
- The ANC is still on course to win the largest share of the vote, meaning that its leader Ramaphosa is likely to remain in office.
- Voter dissatisfaction over high rates of unemployment and crime, frequent power blackouts and corruption in party ranks lies behind the ANC’s gradual fall from grace.
- More than 27 million South Africans are registered to vote at more than 23,000 polling stations that will be open until 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).
- Voters will elect provincial assemblies in each of the country’s nine provinces, and a new national parliament which will then choose the next president.
- The election commission is expected to start releasing partial results within hours of polling stations closing.
