Voting began as scheduled at the Brookfield Academy polling station in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.
Early voters braved the cold to cast their ballots in what they described as an interesting moment in South African history. When SABC News arrived at 6.15am, Peter Hutchinson was the first voter at the station.
He said he had been there since 5:45am.
When asked why he had arrived at the polling station so early, he replied: “I always vote early so I can get it done quickly and get on with the rest of my day. I'm going to have Nandos afterwards.”
Shortly after speaking with Hutchinson, another voter arrived: Hala-Hala Mbongo, also from Midrand. He said he was eager to cast his ballot. He said he was voting for change and hoped the new government would help solve the country's problems.
Another voter, who arrived at the polling station in his running clothes and in high spirits, said the status quo needed to change.
“I'm voting for change, for changing the status quo.”
The polling place manager said there were 911 registered voters and they were not expecting a busy day.
The first voter ran into a verification issue with the voter management device unable to detect him, but the chairman quickly intervened and asked him to verify his name on the printed voter roll, where he was quickly verified and allowed to vote.