South Africans go to the polls.

South Africa in post-Nelson Mandela elections

 

South Africans are voting in a general elections as the country marks 20 years since the end of white-minority rule.

The African National Congress (ANC) is tipped to win, returning President Jacob  Zuma  for a second five-year term.
These are the first elections since the death in December of Nelson Mandela, the country's first black president.
Correspondents say voting has begun smoothly with long queues and there is an air of excitement, especially amongst first-time voters.
Correspondents say police have been deployed to areas where there have been scene of violent protests and political tensions.

Ahead of today's voting more than 22,000 polling stations have been set up across South Africa  for  some 25 million registered voters who joined the queues earlier to vote.

The ANC is expected to win more than 60% of the vote, although opinion polls show there is disaffection with the country's leadership.But it is not clear whether this will translate into a significant swing for the opposition.

  

The ANC's main challenger is the Democratic Alliance (DA), the liberal pro-business party led by anti-apartheid activist Helen Zille and The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), launched last year by former ANC youth leader Julius Melema .

Those born after the end of apartheid in 1994 are casting their first national ballots, although only a third of those entitled to do so have registered to vote.  Many first-time voters are excited to be able to cast their ballots for the first time