Polls have officially closed in South Africa, where there have been long queues reminiscent of those 30 years ago at the end of apartheid.

The electoral commission says people in lines to vote by 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) will still be able to do so - and police had been deployed to ensure the safety of voters.

There was a late surge at polling stations, especially in urban areas, it said, predicting turnout would be higher than the last poll.

Key moments of the day include:

• The staying power of voters - some queued for more than seven hours and the EFF leader Julius Malema queued for three hours to cast his ballot
• Supporters of ex-President Jacob Zuma, who is campaigning against the ANC for the new MK party, ululating and chanting his clan names as he arrived to vote in his home village
• Best quote from a Johannesburg voter dressed up in a yellow and black outfit: “I’m ANC, right to my underwear.”

A reminder of why the vote is so important:

• It could see the ANC lose its majority for the first time since 1994 when Nelson Mandela came to power as the country’s first democratically elected president
• The party has been under fire over widespread corruption in government, the high levels of unemployment, deteriorating public services and rampant crime
• It may be forced to enter into a coalition with one or more opposition parties.

Image source, AFP

First results should start trickling in overnight - for the latest go to BBCAfrica.com.

With polls about to close and counting about to begin, all eyes will now be on whether the African National Congress (ANC) support falls below 50% for the first time. If it does then it will have to enter into some sort of pact or coalition with others.

The constitution does not spell out how a coalition could be formed.

But assuming the ANC remains the largest party, smaller parties could informally agree to support an ANC government on a vote-by-vote basis in return for some concessions.

Or, at the other end of possibilities, the ANC could enter a formal coalition with one or more parties, including a written agreement outlining legislative plans and the distribution of cabinet posts.

Any other party would face the same choices.

An opposition coalition has also been mooted, though analysts say this is highly unlikely.

In a pre-election deal, a group of parties - led by the Democratic Alliance - signed up to what has been called the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa. If together they get more than 50% of the seats, they have already agreed to form a coalition.

The agreement does not include the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – or the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party led by former President Jacob Zuma.

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Pretoria

Image source, BBC/Kyla Herrmannsen

Polling tents have been pitched on the grounds of Pretoria’s Union Buildings - the grand seat of government and office of the president.

The first three people I met told me they’d voted for parties other than the African National Congress (ANC).

Manyane Mokhosi had never cast a ballot before in his 34 years, but “the mess in South Africa” had triggered him to vote.

He expected the ANC to remain the biggest party, but he said he would lodge a protest vote to warn that it needs to do better, citing too much corruption and a lack of basic services like water and electricity.

Image source, BBC/Kyla Herrmannsen

Oyama Mtoda, a 29-year-old film student, said it felt like a bit of a risk to back a different party for the first time, but “the goal is for us to change".

"It’s scary but at the end of the day, you know, I feel like I did what I had to and that’s it."

There were obvious ANC supporters - one of them dressed in a bright yellow gown, flamboyantly wearing the party’s colours.

Earlier, in Soweto, I encountered more emotional attachment to the party’s liberation legacy.

“I’m voting for African National Congress, Mandela, Viva Mandela,” Pule Motse told me. “They gave me dignity, they gave me dignity.”

And they won the right to vote for all South Africans - that is something even their critics have not forgotten.

Image source, BBC/Kyla Herrmannsen

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, AFP

I've just arrived at the polling station at the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg. It’s dark here because the streets lights are not working.

That has not deterred voters from standing in long queues - possibly as long as those at City Hall - waiting to vote.

African National Congress (ANC) volunteers at the polling station say the turnout is far higher than they expected.

“We are going to be sleeping here tonight,” says one of them, Sello Mabiletsa, pointing to the fact that voting is going to end very late.

He says in previous elections a high voter turnout worked in the ANC’s favour, and it will do so this time.

“People are coming out to vote because they want the ANC to win decisively," Mabiletsa says.

"They don’t want a coalition because know it will cause chaos. They’ve seen it in the coalitions formed in cities after no clear winner emerged."

Marco Oriunto
BBC News, Nkandla

Donning a green-and-black T-shirt of the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, 22-year-old Thandolowakhe Mazibane is a first-time voter from Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal.

This is the province with the largest support for the party led by former President Jacob Zuma.

Mazibane believes the party of liberation, the African National Congress (ANC), has had its time.

“ANC has played a role, but it has faced many challenges,” she says. “So I don’t want to say that ANC has done something wrong, but I decided to choose MK because I’m expecting to see change.”

Zuma, whose presidency was mired in allegations of corruption, was forced to resign in 2018. He joined the MK in December to campaign against his old party.

“The ANC won’t be able to give us everything we want,” says Mazibane. “They also have financial problems. I want MK to end load-shedding,” she says, referring to nationwide power-cuts, “and open many job opportunities for the youth”.

Mohammed Allie
BBC News, Cape Town

Catering for only 165 registered voters, the historic Robben Island is normally the first polling station to have its result declared in South Africa’s elections.

This year will be no different as the result is expected after midnight.

Asipe Zilwa, presiding officer at the island’s voting station, says with three hours remaining only 51 votes had been cast, although many of the outstanding ballots were expected to be completed after the staff of the Robben Island Museum finish their working day.

“Everything went smoothly and only one party, the ANC, had an agent present,” says Zilwa.

The secured ballots are expected to be transported to Cape Town on the first ferry in the morning, accompanied by a member of South Africa's police service.

Interestingly, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) claimed the majority of the votes on the island in the 2021 municipal elections.

Robben Island was used by the apartheid government to incarcerate political prisoners between 1961 and 1991.

Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and Ahmed Kathrada were among the most famous political prisoners held on Robben Island.

Bruno Garcez
BBC News, Johannesburg

The head of South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has given his assurance that despite long queues in some areas, all voters who make their way to the voting stations before 21:00 local time will be able to cast their ballot.

Sy Mamabolo was addressing journalists at the IEC centre in Johannesburg.

He acknowledged that the long queues in some areas were a problem, but added that it was “a good problem to have given our commitment to service all voters”.

Tom Santorelli
BBC News, Gqeberha

The nerve centre of the election in the Nelson Mandela Bay area in the Eastern Cape province is at the St George's Park Cricket Ground.

On the second floor, IEC officials and party agents continue to monitor the situation across the municipality and any issues highlighted will be resolved here.

When voting ends after 21:00 local time, the count begins.

Results from different voting stations and centres will be delivered here and displayed on the screens.

On the ground floor, a big empty hall will be one of the final storage areas for ballot boxes from nearby voting centres:

An IEC official told us that they anticipate the release of provisional results on Friday with official results possibly available on Saturday.

There are 600,118 registered voters in this municipality and 3.4 million registered voters across the Eastern Cape, where anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela and other notable ANC leading lights hail from.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

An election official at Johannesburg City Hall has told me that the queues have been so long here that it reminds him of 1994, when black people voted for the first time.

He says he sees in young people a determination to vote - similar to the determination their parents had in 1994, when the African National Congress (ANC) - then a revered liberation movement - was voted into office along with its then-leader Nelson Mandela.

“Young people want change - 2024 is their 1994,” says the official, who asked not to be named.

He says the youngsters' determination to vote is borne out by the fact that they are standing in queues that stretch from one end of City Hall to the other end, and then turn into a side road - for up to seven hours.

“In previous elections, they’d leave after three hours to go and drink - but not today,” he says.

The official adds that he expects voting to continue until after midnight local time, even though polling stations are supposed to close at 21:00 local time (20:00 BST).

Some young voters I spoke to were contemptuous of the ANC, saying it is corrupt and unable to govern effectively.

“After 30 years in government, the ANC is still a baby,” one woman says.

Another voter butts in: “Just look at this City Hall, it’s falling apart. Just look at that building [on the opposite side] it’s lying empty.”

Local journalist Vulikhaya Ntusi is also at City Hall to report on voting. He goes as far as to say that the queues are longer than in 1994: “Young voters have turned against the ANC."

Mohammed Allie
BBC News, Cape Town

Image source, BBC News

“We have come to vote the ANC out!” four University of Cape Town students, three of whom are first-time voters, proclaim when asked what motivated them to come out and cast their ballot.

While many voters are understandably reticent about who they voted for, the students were forthcoming about who they didn't back.

Angela Kekana says: “We are tired of broken promises leading up to the elections, there hasn’t been much change in the country and corruption levels are just growing all the time."

The students, who spent three hours queuing at the St Paul’s Church polling station in Rondebosch, close to the university, are unanimous that voting was worth the wait.

“It’s time for young people to make a stand. My mother stopped voting for the ANC at the last election and now I’m following suit,” says Sinenkosi Khumalo.

With around a few hours to go before the closing of the polls at 21:00 local time, and with the sun setting behind the Devil’s Peak mountain, there was still a long queue of voters, mainly students, waiting to cast their ballots.

Creative marketing by an energy drinks company saw them handing out free products to the students, who are currently writing their mid-year exams.

The electoral commission says the final result will be known by Sunday 2 June at the latest, but the count will start as soon as polls close on Wednesday and figures will be released as the tallying in various areas is completed.

Most of the votes should be counted within the first 24 hours but more time might be needed to verify the tallies and deal with objections.

South Africans have been used to knowing the results by the Saturday after polling day, but this time things are expected to take longer as there will be more ballot papers to count because of the extra vote.

Marco Oriunto
BBC News, KwaZulu-Natal province

Image source, BBC/Marco Oriunto

KwaZulu-Natal province hosts the second largest number of registered voters in South Africa - so it will be key in this election.

It is also home of former President Jacob Zuma who abandoned the governing ANC to campaign for a new party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).

About 200 polling stations in this province have also been identified at risk of violence.

“Only my heart knows who I voted for, but I’m nervous about what this election will bring,” 30-year-old Simphiwe Biyela says after casting his vote at a polling station in the town of Eshowe.

Image source, BBC/Marco Oriunto

But Khanyisile Mhlongo, who is canvasing for the MK party, rejects accusations that MK supporters will cause trouble.

“We believe Zuma is a peaceful man. We don’t like this insinuation that the MK will start the chaos if the party won’t get the vote," she says.

“If MK doesn’t get the vote, we will accept it, provided that the election will be shown to have been credible. We hope for a peaceful election.”

Image source, BBC/Marco Oriunto

Opinion polls suggest MK may poach some votes from other political parties, not just the ANC - but also from the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

Thami Ntuli, the IFP’s candidate for provincial premier - as state governors are known, called for “calm and tolerance”.

When voting earlier in Nkandla, Zuma’s home village and 75km (46 miles) from Eshowe, he said: “Our democracy has matured.

“I believe the people in Kwa-Zulu-Natal… will accept the results.”

Image source, BBC/Marco Oriunto

Bruno Garcez
BBC News, Johannesburg

The polling station in Dunkeld, one of the most affluent areas of Johannesburg, gathers voters with varied views and life experiences.

Asked by the BBC what the next government should prioritise, domestic worker Alvina Fikil has a small list, entirely comprised of basic services.

“They should look after the roads, houses and water. I’m from the countryside. Nobody goes there to talk to us,” she says.

Image source, BBC News

Sarah Broido, who runs a recruitment agency, says the next government will have “a long list” of priorities.

She says fighting crime and tackling unemployment should top this list.

Her husband, Dale Simon, owns a plumbing business. In his opinion, the next leaders should “get rid of minimum wage and BEE”.

This stands for Black Economic Empowerment, a government programme that aims to enhance the participation of black people in the economy.

“It’s just stupid. Would be better to give opportunities rather than subsidies,” Simon says.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, BBC News

I’ve left the Joubert Park polling station, where queues have been thinning.

I’m now at Johannesburg's City Hall, an imposing colonial-era building where the queues are very long - longer than those at Joubert Park at any point today.

The crowd here is much more boisterous - and ANC activists are singing and dancing just across the road by the stall they’ve set up.

“We are a team of magicians,” ANC member Shaun Mashiane tells me, adding that the party confound its critics by getting an outright majority.

"We are not only magicians - but we’ve been champions for 30 years. It’s not going to change.”

Many voters have been standing in the queue for six hours - and more.

They include architect Mapogo Matsimela, who tells me he will split his vote. He will give his two national ballots to opposition parties - the Economic Freedom Fighters and Patriotic Alliance - and the provincial ballot to the ANC.

“We cannot give power to one party,” he says.

Mr Matsimela expresses the hope that the election will lead to a coalition government.

He wants the legacy of colonialism and apartheid to be addressed, and for black people to have more land and a greater stake in the economy.

“One section of the population owns 87% of the wealth. At least share it,” he says.

• Read more about how South Africa's new voting system works here.

Image source, Reuters

Disgruntled former President Jacob Zuma - who was ousted by Cyril Ramaphosa amid corruption allegations that he denies, and later jailed for defying a court order - is the leader of a fresh rival to the ANC.

The uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, which took its name from the ANC's former armed wing, adds a large element of unpredictability to the race.

It could make a strong showing in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal. The party saw off a court challenge by the ANC over the use of the MK name.

In a separate case, the country's highest court barred the ex-president from running for parliament.

The Constitutional Court ruled that his 15-month prison sentence disqualified him from the election.

However, Zuma's image still appears on the ballot paper. Earlier, Zuma quipped “all is in order, I can see my face on ballot papers” as he voted in his home village of Nkandla.

In its manifesto, the MK party says the country took a wrong economic turn by pursuing market-led policies and that society is "adrift from its core values".

Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Soweto

Image source, BBC News/Kyla Herrmannsen

Artist Njabulo Hlophe, who voted in the historic township of Soweto, is filled with hope. That word comes up a lot even as he tells me about his concerns and frustrations.

At 28 years old, what’s most important to him is a party that has a vision for youth.

“We tend to get marginalised, but this is as much our country as our parents... they're leaving it to us, so someone that really cares about the young people is someone I’m really looking at,” he says.

He wants to get out of the “same loop" that "happens when people get into power and corruption”.

“It’s been the same cries over and over and a steady decline, and as I grow I see my nation fall and it’s concerning,” Hlophe says.

That can be a deterrent to coming out on election day, he says, but “hope is the thing that ignites tomorrow’s nation.

"Hope is the thing that led us to be being able to vote right now.”

Image source, Getty Images

South Africans do not directly vote for a president. Instead they vote for MPs who will then go on to elect the president. The leader of the party that can muster a majority in the National Assembly is likely to become the next head of state.

Here’s a brief overview of the main party leaders:

Cyril Ramaphosa: South Africa’s current president and leader of the African National Congress (ANC), he’s running for a second term.

The 71-year-old has a wide ranging CV. He’s a political veteran who helped Nelson Mandela negotiate an end to apartheid, but has also been a trade unionist, mine boss and business tycoon.

Ramaphosa’s first term in office has been beset by issues such as high unemployment, widespread power cuts and corruption allegations. He promises to create millions of new jobs, end corruption and boost investment.

John Steenhuisen: Heads South Africa’s second largest party, which makes him leader of the opposition.

Along with his party, the liberal Democratic Alliance(DA), Steenhuisen wants greater privatisation. He has also pledged to end power cuts and halve the rate of violent crime.

However, Steenhuisen faces the thorny issue of race. He’s a white man in a country where white people constitute just 7% of the population, yet hold a disproportionate amount of economic power. Thus, numerous commentators question whether South Africa is “ready” for a white president.

Julius Malema: Leads South Africa’s third largest party, the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

His focus is on inequality and the ANC’s failure to sufficiently redistribute land from the white minority to the black majority.

This stance, as well as his fiery speeches, has built Malema a considerable following of both poor black South Africans and young voters.

The 43-year-old is also known for generating controversy, throughout his political career he has offended a wide range of people and been convicted twice for hate speech.

Read more about these party leaders here:

• Julius Malema - South Africa's radical agenda-setter
• John Steenhuisen - The DA leader vowing to 'rescue' South Africa
• Cyril Ramaphosa - South African union leader, mine boss, president

Rafieka Williams
BBC News, Johannesburg

Nomvula Ziswana, who tried to vote earlier but left Johannesburg's Joubert polling station in a huff as the scanners that verify IDs weren’t working, has come back to vote.

This time around the process went smoothly and the 53-year-old was able to cast her ballot. One happy lady.

Farouk Chothia
BBC News, Johannesburg

At the entrance of Joubert Park, the governing African National Congress (ANC) have set up a stall. So have the two big parties that broke away from it - Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).

The MK stall is the most vibrant, belting out songs with lyrics like: “There’s a revolution which brings a solution.”

To my surprise, people manning the EFF stall join the dancing when the following lyrics are played: “Come 2024 - we have no fear.”

While MK is providing political entertainment and selling party paraphernalia, staff at the ANC and EFF stalls are busy working as people stop at their stalls before going into the park to vote.

At the ANC stall, a volunteer is pouring over the voters roll, checking whether people have come to the right polling station or whether they need to go elsewhere.

And at the EFF desk, a volunteer is taking the names and numbers of people to sign them up as party members.

The party came second at this polling station in the last election, trailing the ANC.

EFF volunteer Nkateko Stuurman says he has “high confidence” that the party will do better in this election but acknowledges that MK is taking support from “everyone”.

Catherine Byaruhanga
BBC News, Soweto

Image source, BBC News/Neil Gallagher

There is something heartwarming about seeing different generations arriving at a polling station - from the elderly who are being helped along to ballot boxes, to first time voters and even young children coming along with their parents.

My colleague and I are at the Orlando West High School polling station just off the historic Vilakazi Street where both Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Desmond Tutu once lived.

Joining the queue are Sharon Nyovane and her 14-year-old son, Luvuyo. Change is on their minds and if the opinion polls are anything to go by, it is occuyping the thoughts of many others across the country too.

But the horrors of apartheid are hard to escape and the role the African National Congress (ANC) played in ending white-minority rule remains strong in people’s memories.

“Just looking back from where we came from and where our parents came from - it’s that versus the upcoming generations and the change that we want to see for them,” says Nyovane.

Her son can't vote yet, but tells us: “I’m very excited to vote at the next election because I think it would give us a chance to express our opinions on what we need to vote for so our country can get fixed.”

Some voters here tell us they will vote for the ANC but they also acknowledge change via job creation and the improvement of services is needed.

If the ANC is to maintain its parliamentary majority in these hotly contested elections, its supporters in strongholds like this need to come out and vote.