Some 21 million voters are registered to vote on Wednesday in South Africa's third all-race elections since the end of apartheid 10 years ago.

在星期三的投票日，有两千一百万选民登记参加选举投票，参加南非结束种族隔离10年后的第三次全民大选（5年一届）。

Voters will elect representatives to the 400-seat National Assembly and to the legislatures of South Africa's nine provinces.

选民将选择南非国民大会400个席位的归属，以及南非九个省份的立法机构。

Here are some facts about the elections:

Voting:
Voters will cast ballots at some 17 000 voting stations around the country, from 7am (0500 GMT) to 9pm (1900 GMT). They will elect members of parliament based on party lists and not individual candidates.

投票将在全国一万七千个投票点进行，从南非时间早上7点到晚上9点。

A total of 37 parties are running in the elections including 21 parties who are fielding candidates only to the National Assembly.

一共有37个党派参加了被选举，其中21个党派仅仅参加了议席的选举（没有总统候选人）。

Current makeup of the parliament:

现在的席位分配：

President Thabo Mbeki's African National Congress (ANC) party holds 275 seats in the 400-member National Assembly. It won 266 seats in 1999 and bolstered its strength with defectors from opposition parties.

姆贝基领导的非国大（ANC）有275个席位，比1999年选举前的266个席位还多。

Trailing far behind is the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), with 46 seats, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 31 seats and the New National Party (NNP), with 20 seats. The NNP is the successor to the National Party, for decades the backbone of the apartheid regime.

之后是民主联盟占有46个席位，英卡塔自由党为31个席位，新国民党为20个席位，新国民党是前国民党后续，国民党十年前种族隔离政策的政党。

The African Christian Democratic Party has seven seats and the United Democratic Movement four followed by a string of other smaller parties who have fewer than four seats.

基督民主党有7个席位，…………

These are: the Freedom Front (3), the United Christian Democratic Party (3), the Federal Alliance (2), the Pan Africanist Congress (2), the Minority Front (1), the Azanian People's Organisation (1), the Independent Democrats (1), National Action (1), African Independent Movement (1), Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity (1), Peace and Justice Congress (1).

Election of the president:

总统选举：

The president is to be elected by the new parliament on April 23.

总统将在四月23号由新国会选举。

Mbeki is expected to win a second and final mandate. The presidential inauguration is scheduled for April 27, coinciding with celebrations marking a decade of democracy in South Africa.

姆贝基应该能连任，就职典礼将在四月27号举行，也是种族隔离结束10周年的纪念日。

Provincial vote:
Voters will also choose representatives to the nine provincial legislatures. The two most hotly contested provinces are KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, where the ANC is seeking an all-out majority.

Turnout:
The participation rate in the 1999 elections was 89.3 percent. Electoral officials say they expect turn-out to be higher this time around.

Results:
The counting of ballots starts immediately after polling stations close. First results are expected to be made available by the Independent Electoral Commission in the evening.

AFP

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