In first results in South Africa's second all-race democratic election, President Nelson Mandela's African National Congress has gained more than 80 per cent of the vote. Although its final count is not expected to be as spectacular, a landslide majority is certain.
More than 100,000 extra troops and police were deployed across the country for voting day. South Africans turned out in force to vote. The polling was orderly, in marked contrast to the violence five years ago, which ushered in the era of black majority rule.
Outgoing South African President, Nelson Mandela, was among the first to cast his vote in his country's elections. Mr Mandela then began his retirement, at 80, by going on holiday. The election marks the end of the Nelson Mandela era. President Mandela said it was a wonderful feeling to vote again.
His party, the ANC, is expected to win a decisive victory and Mr Mandela's deputy, Thabo Mbeki, will then become post-apartheid South Africa's second president.
