JOHANNESBURG—On June 2 South Africa once again reached a historic milestone when voters went to the polls for the second time since the end of white minority rule. By the millions they lined up for hours to cast their votes and have a voice in their new democracy.

As expected the African National Congress (ANC) and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki dominated the election, coming one vote shy of winning a two-third majority in the country’s parliament. Mr. Mbeki’s inauguration is scheduled for June 16. The 56-year-old former deputy president and university-trained economist has run South Africa’s day-to-day government for the past two years.

The ANC won 266 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, with 12 opposition parities also winning seats in parliament, according to results tallied the evening of June 7 by the Independent Electoral Commission.

The mostly white Democratic Party (DP) won 38 seats, replacing the New National Party (NNP) as the official opposition. The NNP, a warmed over version of the party that ruled during the dark days of apartheid, won 28 seats. In an irony, one NNP official accused the Democratic Party of using race to appeal to white voters. The DP is known for criticism of the ANC and complaints about crime in South Africa.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) came in third with 34 seats, a stunning performance for the predominantly Zulu organization. Pollsters had predicted Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s IFP would not be a major force. But, the IFP’s poll performance has rumors flying that the Zulu leader will be lured into Mr. Mbeki’s cabinet. There is also apparently an IFP-ANC agreement for a coalition to run the KwaZulu-Natal province, where no clear winner emerged. That is a good sign given bloody 1980 battles between supporters of the two movements that claimed thousands of lives—though some ANC charges of the hidden hand of the then-ruling apartheid regime in the conflict have been borne out.

The neophyte United Democratic Movement captured 14 seats, and the African Christian Democratic Party took six seats. The Pan Africanist Congress, the United Christian Democratic Party and the Freedom Front garnered three seats apiece. The Federal Alliance took two seats. The Azanian People’s Organization, the Minority Front and the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging each won a single seat in parliament.

A total of 15.9 million, or 89.28 percent of potential voters, cast ballots, according to election officials.

Millions of ordinary people lined the roads, streets, tracks and paths on a cold winter election day. Many waited for up to 12 hours, some walked as far as 60 kilometers, 40 miles, in this election.

One striking fact of these elections was the lack of political violence as opposed to 1994 when hundreds died during elections. Up to June 2, only two small instances of violence were recorded, as the ANC and IFP had signed peace declarations.

The euphoria of many Blacks who cast votes for the first time in 1994 was replaced by an emphasis on improving everyday life: jobs, electricity, housing, education and running water.

Opposition parties had argued that the ANC had failed to deliver on promises in these areas and a new coalition government was needed. On the day the people had their say, the ANC was chosen to oversee South Africa for the next five years and into the dawn of the next century.

Apparently, in all but two provinces, the ANC won an outright majority.

"The people have at last had their say as to who they want to lead them into the future," said President-elect Mbeki, who was groomed for leadership by the ANC as a young man and hand-picked to succeed President Nelson Mandela, in a victory speech.

Mr. Mbeki promised to govern "with humility’’ and increase the pace of help for the poor. Mainly white opponents had argued the ANC’s victory might be so overwhelming that it would alter the constitution. ANC officials largely dismissed the talk as political hogwash.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of President Mandela, has also promised that the ANC will deliver a better life to poor Blacks. "The 1994 elections attained a political freedom but we have not attained economic freedom of our people so far," she told reporters June 2 at a polling station. Political power must be translated into a "better life for our people," she conceded.

According to a survey published June 7 in Johannesburg by the Human Sciences Research Council, 96 percent of voters believed the elections were conducted freely and fairly.

The results of the first survey of its kind among 11,140 voters at 214 polling stations on election day reveal that only three percent of voters felt election procedures were not free and fair, while one percent abstained.

According to the survey, 99 percent of voters indicated that they were not forced or intimidated to support a specific party.

The survey also shows 79 percent of voters were able to reach their polling stations in less than 30 minutes.