Political parties’ fortunes have waxed and waned in the past five years. We’ve contrasted some of the 2011 poll’s trends with the 2006 results.
Using piles of rocks, protesters have blocked the only road leading into Morutsi village in Limpopo as an attempt to disrupt polling.
In a remarkable electoral feat, the Democratic Alliance has improved its standing in all provinces, based on 71% of the vote.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was well on track with capturing results of the local government elections on Thursday.
Cope was to blame for the Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan council remaining in ANC hands, Cope officials themselves conceded.
Despite the DA’s best performance yet, holding on to Cape Town and Midvaal with ease, it was not able to win Nelson Mandela Bay from the ANC.
South Africans proved themselves a nation of procrastinators, with 20 765 would-be voters flooding home affairs offices on the day of the polls.
The African National Congress was "very disappointed" over losing Midvaal in Gauteng to the Democratic Alliance.
The African National Congress had garnered more than 60% of the 10,9-million local government election votes counted by 7am on Thursday morning.
The ANC enjoyed a significant lead in Nelson Mandela Bay as the results of the municipal elections began trickling in on Thursday.
A shockingly low turnout of voters in Mpumalanga was reported on Thursday morning when bleary-eyed party officials returned to the IEC in Pretoria.
The Independent Electoral Commission is expecting only 40% of the voter turnout, a lower percentage to the 2006 local government.
With just 131 071 votes counted by midnight on Wednesday, the ruling party had 55,76% of the vote for wards and the DA came in at 33,48%.
Despite media reports that the Afrikaner community of Orania in the North West would be boycotting the municipal elections, 65 residents voted.
Preliminary data on the turnout for the local government elections indicated that 23% of registered voters had cast their ballots by 7pm on Wednesday.
The storm in a teacup over bulk SMSs sent by political parties continued on election day, with voters receiving SMSs from the DA.
The first results of the 2011 municipal elections came in at 8:22pm on Wednesday, more than one hour after voting stations around the country closed.
With polls closed, excitement is growing inside the IEC results centre in Pretoria, the prospect of won wards competing with the dread of lost votes.
As the polls opened for the local government elections, one resident of Zandspruit, near Jo’burg, woke up hoping this day would bring change.
A 53-year old voter died of a heart attack while waiting in a queue to vote in Tafelsig on the Cape Flats on Wednesday afternoon.
No matter their background, voters across Johannesburg said they want change after the elections, but that didn’t always mean switching allegiances.
Voting in Eshowe in KZN turned into a meat and greet as voters, and President Zuma, were met with competing political choirs — and boerewors rolls.
President Jacob Zuma called for "proper" roads, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela called for jobs and voters called for faster queues on Wednesday.
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.
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.
Votes in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, on Wednesday said their biggest concerns were the lack of housing and job creation.
Politicians joined ordinary South Africans casting their votes as the local government elections got under way on Wednesday.
The atmosphere in Thembisa Square, the nerve centre of Wesselton township’s volatile ward five, on Tuesday took on the air of a carnival procession.
Residents of Tafelsig in Mitchell’s Plain on the Cape Flats swore they would not be voting on Wednesday after a violent protest in the area.
South Africa’s fourth post-apartheid local government elections got under way without any hitches at 7am on Wednesday.