On April 27 South Africans of every colour queued for hours to cast their votes, some for the first time in their lives. The voting age was lowered from 18 to 14 to include youths that were so involved in the struggle. There were more than 25 parties running for election and voters chose a party rather than an individual political candidate. The ANC won the election and Nelson Mandela became the first president of the newly formed republic. He was inaugurated on 10 May 1994.
