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South Africans Vote As Mandela's Ruling Party Strives To Retain Power

The ruling African National Congress saw its reputation tarnished in the wake of scandals and high unemployment. The election is largely seen as a referendum on the political party.
Hundreds of South African voters wait in long lines outside of a Durban polling station on Wednesday.

Votes are being counted with results expected in the coming days after South Africans voted Wednesday in what's being seen as a referendum on the party that's governed the country for 25 years, since apartheid ended.

Local outlets that turnout in townships appeared low on the public holiday, especially compared to the first nonracial elections in 1994. That year, was sworn in as South Africa's first democratically elected, and first black,

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