Polls suggest the governing party could fall below 40 percent as voters weigh failing services. South Africans are voting in local elections widely seen as a verdict on the African National Congress (ANC), the party that led the country out of white minority rule in 1994 but has steadily lost support over the past decade. Polls opened at 7am (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday and close at 9pm (19:00 GMT).