S. African president casts ballot, promising economy first

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa cast his vote at a Soweto voting station on Wednesday, promising to prioritize reviving the sluggish economy and bringing more investment.

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and the African National Congress, casts his vote at Hitekani Primary School voting station on May 8, 2019 in Soweto. [Photo: AFP]

Speaking to the media after voting at Hitekani primary school, Ramaphosa said despite the challenges the country has been through, change was imminent.

"This election has largely been about local issues. We are committed that we are going to embark on a process of growing the economy, attracting investment and the outcome of the election would be a major boost also to investors," he said.

Some analysts have predicted that the elections would be the most difficult for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) since 1994.

The president said he was aware of the party's past mistakes.

"We still have challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The clear mandate we're getting out of this election is to speed up economic growth to address the plight of our people," he said.

The president said his government is aware that communities want better services and issues such as corruption to be tackled.

"People want us to hasten service delivery. I'm humbled by the turnout. Never again, must South Africa go through what it went through where there was malfeasance and rampant corruption. Our people hate corruption," he added.

Before voting, Ramaphosa interacted with other voters waiting in the queue.

Voter Salphina Nonakwe told Xinhua that she would be voting for the ANC.

"We love Cyril Ramaphosa. We can't judge before he tries. We don't want corruption. We want our children to get jobs and get good education. No poverty, but jobs," said the 52-year-old former domestic worker.