audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - Some 25 million South Africans took to the polls as The Republic of South Africa held its fifth one-person, one-vote general election. The African National Congress (ANC) brushed off political scandals and economic discontent to win a fifth consecutive South African election victory for President Jacob Zuma. The country has over 25 percent unemployment and it's almost 35 percent of the country's frustrated youth. A shift in racial hiring practices and the recent global economic crisis means many white South Africans have fallen on hard times. In the old days, the apartheid system looked after whites and did very little for anyone else. Nowadays white people here are on their own. More than half of South Africa's children live in poverty, according to the UN. Critics have noted the bias in the state media here, and the first signs of real scepticism about the independence of those organizing the elections. But in broad terms this election suggests that South Africa's democracy is in robust, abrasive health. The ANC, which led the fight against apartheid, has dominated politics since Nelson Mandela was elected as South Africa's first black president in 1994.
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May 4, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - NOMPUMELELO and NOSIMPHIWE will vote for the first time in the general election.
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May 3, 2014 - Pretoria, South Africa - JOHAN FULSCHER, 52, is a white South African. A change in racial hiring practices in the South Africa means many white South Africans have fallen on difficult times.
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May 4, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - A house in the Motsoaledi shantytown with ANC graffiti on it.
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May 3, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - A white South African asks for help on the side of the road. Approximately 450,000 whites, out of a white population of 4.5 million, live below the poverty line, according to researchers.
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May 7, 2014 - Bekkersdal, South Africa - People wait in line before voting in the general election. The night before, election tents were burned down during clashes with police.
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May 3, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - A small wooden one-room hut has no toilet or running water at a housing area for poor white South Africans.
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May 4, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - ELLA MACHEPHA and SISEKO NONGALAZA will vote for the first time.
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May 7, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - People wait in line before voting in the general election at a poll station.
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May 3, 2014 - Pretoria, South Africa - DIANE, 27, holds JANNETTA, 2, with DANTE, 5, behind on the bed. Winter is coming to South Africa and the temperature drops down to just a few degrees above freezing at night. 'It gets very cold in the house' , says Diane. 'Apart from the blankets we have nothing to warm us with'.
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May 3, 2014 - Pretoria, South Africa - LOUIS, 28, DIANE, 27, with their children JANNETTA, 2, DYLAN 3 and DANTE, 5. Louis performs simple maintenance tasks on the farm. It is the family's only income. The rent for the shed is low and they are fed through aid organizations.
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May 7, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - People wait in line before voting in the general election at a poll station.
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May 5, 2014 - Pretoria, South Africa - LOUIS MEINTJES, a white farmer in South Africa holds a gun. He and his wife have been attacked in their home.
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May 7, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - People wait in line before general election voting in the Bekkersdal township. The night before, election tents were burned down during clashes with police.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Aftonbladet/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
May 7, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - People wait in line before voting in the general election at a poll station.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Aftonbladet/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
May 4, 2014 - Soweto, South Africa - Before the general election, a boy plays football outside Mandela's home.
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