Pretoria - President Kgalema Motlanthe will be among the early birds expected to cast their votes as polling stations open at 7am.
The President is expected to cast his vote at the polling station at which he is registered at Colbin.
He will be among the more than 23 million South Africans, including 16 000 in the diaspora, expected to cast their votes in the country's fourth democratic elections.
Today's election will be the biggest election since the end of the apartheid government.
The Independent Electoral Commission expects a voter turnout of at least 80 percent. This amounts to at least 16 million voters.
Gauteng province has the largest voting population of 5.5 million registered voters.
Meanwhile, Deputy President Baleka Mbete is expected to cast her vote a little later in Kennilworth in Cape Town. Former President Nelson Mandela is expected to cast his vote in Houghton in Johannesburg.
African National Congress President Jacob Zuma is expected to cast his vote in his hometown of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal.
