The national and provincial elections on Wednesday saw unusually long queues in some metropolitan areas in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape, with some voters in Johannesburg waiting about seven hours in queues before casting their ballots.
Some of the delays could be attributed to there being three ballot papers in this year's elections, which meant voters spent more time when casting their votes. There were also reports of problems with the operation of the voter management devices at some stations.
While the IEC reported that some areas had experienced delays and disruptions to voting, at least one death allegedly linked to the elections was reported.
Police reported that a man died in the Eastern Cape when they returned fire on him after he had allegedly tried to enter a voting station.
Another deadly tragedy in the form of a car accident was reported in KwaZulu-Natal.
A group of people travelling in a car which had an ANC flag draped on the rear passenger window was involved in a horrific crash. A 40-year-old man was declared dead on the scene while six others were injured.
ALS Paramedics said they arrived to find seven people were in the five-seater vehicle.
Millions turned up to voting stations throughout the day, and as the 9pm deadline edged closer, it became evident that the IEC would not be able to capture all votes by then as scores of people remained in queues across the country.
Voting stations were ordered to stay open for all people who were in the queue by 9pm.
While some political parties blamed the delays on a ploy to extend the election date to Thursday, the IEC ruled out this possibility as no plans had been made about what to do with the ballots that had been cast.
Speaking two hours before the cut-off time, chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the commission was experiencing a late surge and processing a large number of voters in some urban areas.
“All voters who arrive before 9pm will be allowed to vote even if it takes beyond closing time. Staff of the commission will remain to ensure every voter is given their ballot.”
Winding queues were reported everywhere, from university campuses to community halls.
On reports that people were being turned away because ballot boxes were full, Mamabolo said it should not be the case as the IEC had a sufficient supply of ballot papers and boxes.
The IEC had recorded a relatively smooth start in the morning, saying by 7am, 93% of its 23,292 voting stations were open and the remainder were open within that hour.
Some stations opened late due to a delay in the delivery of voting materials, and some voting stations were not opened on time because of protests.
Meanwhile, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said he had no doubts that his party would emerge victorious. He cast his vote at the Hitekani Primary School in Chiawelo, Soweto, where he grew up.
“The people of South Africa will give the ANC as they vote today a firm majority. So in my mind, in my head, in my thought processes there isn’t even a doubt about that,” said Ramaphosa.
When DA leader John Steenhuisen cast his vote at Northwood High School in KwaZulu-Natal, he said with the country poised for a coalition government after the elections, things would not be business as usual as it had been for the past 30 years.
He reiterated his party would not be willing to get into a coalition with the ANC, MK Party and the EFF, but was willing to work with parties which have the same objectives as the blue wave.
When EFF leader Julius Malema joined a long queue to vote at a Seshego Primary School in Limpopo, he acknowledged that while there had been “system glitches”, he thought “things are running very well”.
“The elections will be free and fair, there is nothing 100% in life. We must not, out of our own fear of losing elections, start casting aspersions on the IEC and its integrity.”
He said the IEC had run elections successfully for many years without a problem and said the country should not expect major problems.
However, when he cast his vote four hours later, Malema asked the IEC to speed up the process of voting as he lamented the long queues at polling stations around the country.
Home affairs offices were a hive of activity, with some people lauding how quick it was to obtain temporary identity documents.
But this was not the situation for one 50-year-old woman from Soweto, who on Wednesday turned up at the voting station where Ramaphosa had voted to let her plight be known.
Getting to her knees and crying out, she said she had been unable to obtain an ID to vote for decades. She tried to get Ramaphosa's attention but was blocked by security.
Speaking to the media, Imameleng Raphuthing said she was having trouble getting assistance from several departments to obtain her identification documents.
“Nobody is willing to assist me, every year when I go to home affairs for assistance, things are continually changing.”
Raphuthing said in 1994 she voted using her voter's card, but because she was young she did not apply for an ID.
“When I go to home affairs I become a laughing stock, that’s why I decided to come here and talk to him.”
This year saw throngs of youth take to the polls. Many took to their social media, sharing pictures of their inked thumbs.
The popular slogan of “your vote is your secret” did not apply for one youth — KwaZulu-Natal's Thembeka Dliwako, dubbed NomaRally.
The young woman has made headlines after T-shirt swapping, moving from stadium to stadium and carefully listening to what political parties had to say in their manifestos.
Dliwako took to social media on Wednesday evening after finally making her mark, announcing she had decided to give her vote to ActionSA.
TimesLIVE Premium reporters monitored some of the country's most troubled areas such as Hammanskraal, where poor water and sanitation has led to the deaths of numerous community members from cholera.
Another reporter visited Diepsloot, which has over the years been rocked by clashes with foreign nationals, who locals claim are mostly undocumented and are behind the surge in crime.
TimesLIVE Premium also visited Kliptown in Soweto where the community claimed to have been neglected and forgotten by government.
In this and other areas, despite there being an array of problems, residents clung to the hope for change and cast their votes in numbers.
Vote counting is expected to get under way on Thursday morning.
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