– Protests and violence –
The ANC is still expected to win more than 60 percent of the popular vote, returning President Jacob Zuma for a second five-year term.
But it is also likely to see its share of the vote slide for a second successive election.
The opposition Democratic Alliance is expected to do well in urban areas and push its share of the vote above 20 percent, but it still struggles to appeal to mainstream black voters.
The tenor of opposition campaigning has often been shrill, amid allegations of censorship by state broadcaster SABC and one case of ballot papers being found at an ANC activist’s home.
But according to Lizette Lancaster of the Institute of Security Studies the election will be free and fair despite isolated problems.
“From about October we recorded 78 incidents of election related incidents and protests, about two-third escalated into violence,” she said.
“I think the police are well equipped to deal with tomorrow, I think we will see a very strong security presence at the polling stations around the hotspots.”
Police said they will send at least one officer to every polling station and 1,850 army troops have also been deployed across the country.
Already an estimated 400,000 voters have cast early ballots, including some on the east coast who braved high winds that blew over tents erected for the vote.
Some 12,000 marked ballots have already been delivered by courier from voting stations overseas.
But the bulk of the voting will begin at 7am (0500 GMT) on Wednesday and end roughly 14 hours later.
President Zuma, who has become a lightning rod for anger over corruption and mismanagement will vote at his Nkandala homestead in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Nkandala itself has featured prominently in the election campaign after it emerged that Zuma’s administration spent $23 million of taxpayers cash on “upgrades” that include a swimming pool, amphitheatre, helipad, private clinic and cattle kraal.
Opposition leader Helen Zille will vote in Cape Town.
While some early tallies may trickle in on Wednesday evening, the full result is not likely to be known before Friday.
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