S Africa\\\'s ANC sees \\\'overwhelming mandate\\\'

With nearly half the votes counted in South Africa's landmark election, the ruling ANC looked certain to extend its 20-year rule on Thursday, but with sizeable gains for the opposition.
Results from more than half the polling centres showed the ANC had garnered a thumping 63 percent of the popular vote, making it highly likely that President Jacob Zuma will return for a second five-year term.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said the party -- which has been in power since the end of apartheid in 1994 -- expected to receive "an overwhelming mandate" from voters.
For millions of South Africans the ANC remains the party of liberation, a point underscored by the recent 20th anniversary of democracy and the outpouring of emotion that accompanied the death of former president Nelson Mandela, according to AFP.