South Africa counts votes with ANC majority on the line

Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials empty a ballot box during the vote counting process at Addington Primary School voting station in Durban. [AFP]

Counting began in each voting station shortly after polls closed, in some cities long after the planned 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) Wednesday shutdown, with long queues of voters snaking into the night.

With just over 10 per cent of votes tallied, the ANC was leading but with a score of 42 per cent -- well down on the 57 per cent it won in 2019 -- followed by the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) at 26 per cent, according to electoral authorities.