Voting Begins in South Africa’s General Elections

South Africans began voting Wednesday in an election seen as their countrys most important in 30 years. Voters are electing nine provincial legislatures and a new national parliament, which will then choose the country's next president. The governing African National Congress (ANC) party loses its majority as opinion polls suggest. If the ANC gets less than 50% of the national vote it will have to seek one or more coalition partners to govern the country, the first such alliance in the 30 years since it swept to power. More than 27 million people registered to vote out of a population of roughly 62 million. South Africa's electoral commission is expected to start releasing partial results within hours of voting stations closing. The commission has seven days to announce final results. Source: Qatar News Agency