WATCH | Your vote strengthens democracy: Deputy President Paul Mashatile

Deputy President Paul Mashatile called on South Africans to go out in their numbers to exercise their democratic right.

“I have cast my vote. This is where I always vote. I am pleased most voting stations throughout the country are open,” he said.

Mashatile cast his vote at St Johannes Lutheran Church in Kelvin, Sandton on Wednesday morning.

He arrived in a convoy to excitement among ANC volunteers outside the station in a calm suburb a few kilometres away from Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.

“There may be glitches here and there, but I call on all South Africans to go out and exercise their right to vote. It is a right we all fought hard for,” he said.

He said after 30 years, the country remains a very strong democracy and voting will make sure it is sustained.

Mashatile said he happy with voter turnout, and in most parts of the country the elections are proceeding peacefully, and he hoped it would be like that throughout the day.

“We hope by the end of the voting process, everything would have gone well and South Africans would have exercised their rights.

“We call on everybody to go out. It does seem like there is a lot of excitement on the ground, with many people coming out. It's a good thing.

“I heard in some parts of the country there were challenges, including in the Eastern Cape, but generally it does look peaceful.”

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