South Africa’s ruling ANC seeks to reverse sliding support as millions go to the polls

The African National Congress faces its toughest electoral test on Wednesday, seeking to reverse a slide in support from voters frustrated by rampant corruption and racial inequalities a generation after it won power in South Africa’s first all-race poll.

South Africans started voting in parliamentary and provincial elections, with queues seen winding from various polling stations. Polling stations will close at 9pm. The exact timing of results is uncertain.

“I’m a member of the ANC but I didn’t vote for them this time,” said Thabo Makhene, 32, who works in construction at a polling station in the commercial hub of Johannesburg.

“They need to catch a wake-up. The way they run the state, mishandling state funds, they’ve lost their morals.”