President Jacob Zuma called for "proper" roads, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela called for jobs and voters called for faster queues on Wednesday.
Service delivery seemed to be the main concern for most voters, followed closely by housing and job creation: South Africa wants results.
President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday warned of a new Cold War era if Russia and the West failed to agree on missile defence.
Democracy think-tank Idasa has taken issue with vote-buying practices leading up to the elections, but the IEC has paid their complaints little mind.
Voting hours will be extended in some parts of Johannesburg where ballot papers arrived late and high voter turnout was reported, the IEC says.
South Africa’s 2011 local government elections were a further confirmation of a maturing democracy, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday morning.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee has made four changes to his side to play the Blues in Auckland on Friday.
The next head of the IMF should be from a developing country to ensure the interests of all countries are reflected in its operations, SA says.
There were only a few glitches as South Africans flocked to voting stations on Wednesday, said the IEC.
On Friday April 15 1994, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk participated in the first debate of the new democratic South Africa.