South Africans are casting their votes in an election which observers believe the ruling African National Congress political party could lose its parliamentary majority for the first time.
The ANC party founded by Nelson Mandela has won every vote since the end of White-minority rule in 1994, but its support slipped from a peak of almost 70% in 2004 to 57.5% in 2019.
Polling stations opened at 7am (05:00 GMT) and will close at 9pm (19:00 GMT).
The lower house of South Africa’s Parliament currently consists of 400 members from 14 political parties.
The seats are allocated proportionally based on the votes each party received in the 2019 elections:ANC: 230 seats (57.5 percent),DA: 84 seats (21 percent),Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF): 44 seats (11 percent) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP): 14 seats (3.5 percent).
With voter discontent high, leading opposition parties including a newcomer umKhonto we Sizwe (MK) have put pressure on the ANC in online campaigns and countrywide rallies, promising sweeping reforms in hopes of swaying some 28 million registered voters to their side.
Young people constitute a key demographic, making up a bulk of the electorate. They are also the most removed from South Africa’s apartheid past, to which the ANC’s legacy as the party of liberation is closely tied.
