Hundreds of thousands of first-time "born free" voters in South African came out to vote for a landmark general election on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported.
Twenty years after South Africans of all colors voted to end apartheid, they shrugged off sporadic violence to cast their ballots in the first poll since the death of democratic hero Nelson Mandela.
Although the ruling African National Congress is widely expected to claim a fifth consecutive term in power, millions of determined South Africans turning up in "extremely high" numbers to cast their vote could only prove as an advantage for the party's political foes.
According to AFP, vote watchdog, the Independent Electoral Commission, reported "extremely high turnout at voting stations, especially those in urban and metro areas where long queues continue to be experienced."
The strong turnout could only help the centrist Democratic Alliance and left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters. According to pollsters IPSOS, the ANC could be affected by as much as five percentage points.
"Anything less than 60 percent for the ANC would be seen as a major upset and raise questions about President Jacob Zuma's leadership," AFP reported. "Commentators have billed this election as the last to be dominated by the memory of apartheid."
"A new generation of South Africans -- numbering around two million, with around 646,000 registered to vote -- were born after the end of apartheid and will cast their ballots for the first time."
"I am kind of nervous, thinking 'Have I made a good decision or not?'" said 19-year-old Lesedi Nene.
Despite rising anger over joblessness, inequality and corruption, a record 25 million voters registered for the elections, AFP reported.
"People died for this right. They must not waste it," said Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, a liberation struggle veteran who has said openly he will not vote for the ANC this time.
