Voting begins in South Africa

Voters in South Africa have begun casting their ballots in the country’s fifth general elections since the end of apartheid.

According to wp-content reports some 22,263 polling centers opened at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

About 25 million people are eligible to vote in the general elections, which will also determine who will be the country’s president.

Reports also indicate that the incumbent President Jacob Zuma’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is expected to win the elections, keeping him in office for a second five-year-term.

The ANC is expected to win more than 60 percent of the votes, lower than the 65.9 percent it got in the 2009 vote, because of the country’s high rate of unemployment and corruption scandals.

However, the reports further said people who are dissatisfied with the government have reportedly turned to the opposition Democratic Alliance, headed by anti-apartheid activist Helen Zille, or the Economic Freedom Fighters, led by former ANC youth leader Julius Malema.

The official results will be announced by midday of May, 8, 2014