President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Tshepo Motsepe officially cast their votes on Wednesday.

Received by thousands of ANC supporters both in and outside Hitekani Primary School, Ramaphosa greeted members of the public of different age groups before heading to the ballot box to vote.

After voting, Ramaphosa told journalists outside the voting station that the turnout at the venue on Wednesday, precisely at Chiawelo where he was born, was a sign that victory was certain for the ANC.

“The confidence that is being emitted by our people is just amazing. This is a vote that reminds us of 1994, because our people were just as excited as this.

“Today I will go to sleep very peacefully like I did last night. But this [turnout] has come as an energy booster for me and we hope that the outcome will be in line with what our people wish to see.

“They want to see a South Africa that is working and want the representatives whom they have voted for to be the calibre of representatives that is going to work for them,” said Ramaphosa.

Accompanied by Gauteng provincial chairperson David Makhura among other officials, the president pleaded with citizens who had brought Masungwini Street to a standstill to give the ANC a second chance as they have noted “mistakes” made in the past, and now are on a path of rectifying all the wrongdoing that has led to corruption.

He said although the lives of people have changed over the past 25 years, more effort still had to be intensified in order to improve the lives of poor people.

“Change has happened in our country, we filled the glass to the halfway mark. What we are saying [is] that we now know that we didn’t fill it to the full mark because we started deviating from the mandate that our people gave us.

“Corruption got into the way, patronage got into the way and not focusing on the needs of our people,” said Ramaphosa.

He further pleaded with members of the public to be patient as a number of commissions looking into various institutions would result in people facing the full might of the law when recommendations are made.