Voting gets off to smooth start in South African general poll

, May 7: Voting got off to a smooth start Wednesday in

's fifth general elections since the end of Apartheid.

A large number of voting stations opened across the country without any hiccups, SA News cited Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer Mosotho Moepya as saying.

Speaking after the opening of voting stations at 7 am, Moepya said a few isolated incidents had been reported in some voting stations and these were being attended to.

He noted that a large number of stations opened without any incidents.

This is South Africa's first general election since the death of Nelson Mandela

"Problems may be expected in the first few hours of the opening, not that we are expecting any for the rest of the day. We are busy attending to those reported incidents," said Moepya.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has been at the helm all throughout. This will also be the first national elections since the death of iconic leader Nelson Mandela last year.

The ANC, as the persistent fighter against apartheid, holds sway in eight out of nine provinces of the country and is poised to be returned to power in spite of the fact that its popularity is on the wane with the declining image of President Jacob Zuma.

IANS