• South Africans show their ID cards as they stand in line at a polling station. About 25 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
    South Africans show their ID cards as they stand in line at a polling station. About 25 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
  • Polls opened in South Africa’s fifth all-race elections today, with up to 25 million citizens — including a “born free” generation electing a government for the first time — expected to cast their ballots. Marco Longari / AFP
    Polls opened in South Africa’s fifth all-race elections today, with up to 25 million citizens — including a “born free” generation electing a government for the first time — expected to cast their ballots. Marco Longari / AFP
  • A South African man prepares his ballot before vote as part of the general elections, on May 7, 2014 at the Qunu Junior Secondary school in Qunu, South Africa. Some 22,000 voting stations were operating at schools, places of worship, tribal authority sites and hospitals, and several dozen vehicles serving as mobile voting stations were heading to remote areas to meet people. Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
    A South African man prepares his ballot before vote as part of the general elections, on May 7, 2014 at the Qunu Junior Secondary school in Qunu, South Africa. Some 22,000 voting stations were operating at schools, places of worship, tribal authority sites and hospitals, and several dozen vehicles serving as mobile voting stations were heading to remote areas to meet people. Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
  • The government urged South Africans, particularly young people with the opportunity to vote for the first time, to go to the polls early to avoid bottlenecks later in the day. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
    The government urged South Africans, particularly young people with the opportunity to vote for the first time, to go to the polls early to avoid bottlenecks later in the day. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
  • Some of the hundreds of people stand in line to cast their vote at a polling station in Bekkersdal, Johannesburg, South Africa, 07 May 2014. South Africans started voting in general elections expected to keep the ruling African National Congress in power, even if polls said it could lose votes over corruption and enduring poverty. About 25 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
    Some of the hundreds of people stand in line to cast their vote at a polling station in Bekkersdal, Johannesburg, South Africa, 07 May 2014. South Africans started voting in general elections expected to keep the ruling African National Congress in power, even if polls said it could lose votes over corruption and enduring poverty. About 25 million people were eligible to vote in the elections. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
  • A polling station at the Hospital Hill informal settlement south of Johannesburg, Ihsaan Haffejee / EPA
    A polling station at the Hospital Hill informal settlement south of Johannesburg, Ihsaan Haffejee / EPA
  • A resident of Qunu village in the Eastern Cape casts his ballot. Nearly 2,000 military personnel are assisting police in keeping order around the country. Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
    A resident of Qunu village in the Eastern Cape casts his ballot. Nearly 2,000 military personnel are assisting police in keeping order around the country. Gianluigi Guercia / AFP
  • Voters in Soweto. Denis Farrell / AP
    Voters in Soweto. Denis Farrell / AP
  • The African National Congress, which led the fight against apartheid, has dominated politics since Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Ihsaan Haffejee / EPA
    The African National Congress, which led the fight against apartheid, has dominated politics since Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994. Ihsaan Haffejee / EPA
  • On the ruling party’s watch, millions of people have gained access to water and other basic services, but protests routinely erupt in areas where residents say the government has ignored their needs. Kim Ludbrook / EPA
    On the ruling party’s watch, millions of people have gained access to water and other basic services, but protests routinely erupt in areas where residents say the government has ignored their needs. Kim Ludbrook / EPA

World

In pictures: South Africans vote in ‘born free’ elections

Rob Gurdebeke

May 07, 2014

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South Africans voted Wednesday in elections that are expected to see the ruling African National Congress return to power despite a vigorous challenge from opposition parties seeking to capitalise on discontent with corruption and economic inequality.

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