Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma cast his vote in his hometown in Inkandla, KwaZulu-Natal earlier, amid much excitement and jubilation from the locals in the area.
Zuma, who on his arrival was greeted by IEC Chairperson Brigalia Bam, spent a few minutes chatting with community members who were standing in long queues to cast their votes.
Like all registered voters, Zuma followed the procedure and produced his Identity Document (ID) to the IEC officials at the polling station to verify his identity and to check whether his name appeared on the voters' roll.
After casting his vote, Zuma, who didn't keep his vote a secret announced proudly that he had voted for the African National Congress (ANC). He couldn't contain his happiness at voting and encouraged all South Africans to do the same.
"Voting is very important. It determines who must run the governance of the country so that government can create the conditions for people to put food on the table. Voting influences the manner in which things must be done," Zuma said.
He also noted that this time people understood what voting and democracy was all about and have begun to appreciate that voting was related to their own conditions.
"People have come to appreciate that voting is related to their own conditions. They are voting because they expect their lives to change," Zuma said.
Like most voters, Zuma said he had voted to see an improvement in service delivery, including water and electricity. "I want to see water, tarred roads, electricity, which have not covered everybody in this place," he said.
He also encouraged voters to use their votes to influence decisions and tell councilors what they need and what to do.
"People should understand that it is their right to make suggestions and criticize where there is a need to. ...I'm very optimistic. We've been making serious advances in Inkandla."
