Voters were streaming to polling stations in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning.
In Hyde Park, parking was a battle with cars stretching up and down the streets around voting stations.
Police officers were keeping a watchful eye on proceedings.
Hyde Park domestic worker Mavis Khumalo said she arrived early to get voting over and done with.
Another woman who refused to be named had only one request: ”Politicians should just learn to apologise and admit when they are wrong or else they will discourage people from voting for them”.
At the IR Griffith Primary School in Blairgowrie, disabled and pregnant women were ushered to the head of the queue.
Voting was also unhindered in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg. All eight stations in the area opened on time and voters were streaming in. A queue had already formed outside the Lenasia Civic Centre.
About a dozen people waited at Linden and the presiding officer at Unika Primary School booth in Robindale, Johan Hoff said: ”We expect things to go smoothly.”
Khutsong: ‘We are just waiting for the voters’
A dozen residents of Khutsong’s mainly RDP housing extension three, bucked the trend in the volatile township by queueing to vote on Wednesday morning.
However, by 8am, Independent Electoral Commission officials were still setting up the stations where they were to cast their ballots.
One of the voters hoped his ballot would bring about improved housing, water supply and alleviation of unemployment.
Residents have vowed not to vote — in protest against the incorporation of Merafong Municipality into North West from Gauteng.
IEC staff at Khutsong were hastily installing cardboard polling booths shortly after voting officially opened at 7am on Wednesday.
”We are nearly ready,” joked one IEC official. ”We are just waiting for the voters.”
Earlier, residents said they feared their houses would be torched if they were seen casting a ballot at one of the 18 polling stations in Khutsong, outside Carletonville. A police armoured vehicle is stationed at each of the polling stations.
In the past month, a number of councillors’ houses have been razed in the protest over the provincial demarcation issue.
A Merafong Municipality security van was set alight overnight by a band of youths and there were also sporadic incidents of tyre burning.
However, rain put a dampener on residents’ plans, including a night vigil at the township’s stadium.
On Tuesday night, one resident boasted: ”See that [IEC] tent. At midnight it will be in flames.”
But when the first of Khutsong’s roosters started crowing the tent was still standing, protected by both the rain and the police presence.
Smooth start to voting in Western Cape
Voting got under way smoothly throughout the Western Cape with all 1 441 voting stations reported to have opened on time at 7am, provincial electoral officer Courtney Sampson said.
”I am very pleased. That’s always the first success of the day,” he said.
Reports had been very positive and there were no immediate threats of disruption.
However, Samson said the IEC had been informed that there would be widespread power outages in Cape Town and the rest of the province.
The IEC had made the correct decision when it planned for the elections ”as if there would be no electricity”, he said.
Emergency load-shedding would also be taking place, ”but this does not faze us”.
While rain was threatening in Cape Town earlier on Wednesday, there had been no reports of heavy rain by shortly after 8am.
Sampson said the electoral code of conduct observer mission in Cape Town had also put in a positive initial report.
Earlier visits to voting stations around Cape Town by South African Press Association reporters showed no problems were being experienced, although there were very few queues at the polling booths in Table View, Parklands and Milnerton.
Sun comes out in Pretoria
Everybody in the country needs to understand the importance of local government, President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday.
He was the first person to vote at the Colbyn polling station in Pretoria.
”I’m very keen to vote,” Mbeki told Brigalia Bam, chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, and chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula.
He arrived a few minutes before 7am and had to wait for the voting station to open.
At one stage, he checked the wristwatch of one of the IEC officials to ensure voting started on time.
When the station opened, Mbeki’s ID document was checked. He joked with officials that it was not stolen and then proceeded to vote.
”I hope that all our people, all 21-million [registered voters], will come out to vote because we need a very strong and legitimate local government.”
The sun was shining in Pretoria on Wednesday after days of showers and Mbeki urged voters in parts of the country where it was raining to also vote.
”We cannot, because it rained on March 1, not vote for a local government that will be in power for the next five years.” – Sapa