More than 1200 journalists are reporting South Africa's second all race elections on 2 June and all are catered for in a massive structure in pretoria's showgrounds-tranparency is the rule in these elections.

The South African Braodcasting Corporation(SABC) is putting up an impressive high-tech round-the clock show including regional broadcasts in each of the nine provinces and will show President Nelson Mandela and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and party leaders casting the vote at the break of dawn tomorrow.

Amina Frense, SABC's Deputy Editor of elections says the corporation has collaborated with computer firms to introduce "some very impressive software". "It will be quite interesting and very high tech...and its made in Africa", she said.

The Independent Electoral Commission(IEC)'s election centre is festooned with 600 computers, 27servers, 2000 telephone lines, 8 kilometres of cabling and will take upto 3000 people at a time.

"This is paid for by the IEC and some private enterprise but we cannot give the cost' said an election official from the Media help desk-one of several points attending to various queries from journalists. Giant screens displaying the pictures and symbols all contesting parties and their leaders will bring a moment- by- moment account of events to competing media organisations stationed at the the election centre.

Two separate screens occasionally flash time-tables for various press conferences from the several party and government leaders.

In the expansive country with a land area of 1 223 201 square kilometres and a population of 43.2 million, policing an election in the historically trouble-torn townships of Kwazulu Natal or any of incidental flash-points around, can be a logistical nightmare.

One hundred thousand policemen and army personnel, otherwise dubbed 'peacekeepers", will keep close watch over tomorrow's proceedings. So far, no major incidents have threatened the election. One hundred helicopters will give back up to the ground force and ensure the polls are conducted peacefully.

The majority of the voters are expected to give the African National Congress(ANC) a fresh mandate, possibly with increased majority in parliament. The debate on the streets in whether the opposition has anything more to offer than what the ANC under Mandela has done or promised to do. Unemployment, the economy, crime and corruption are the opposition's campaign points. The Democratic Party(DP) sees itself as the the party with the best chance of becoming the official opposition in parliament. The others, sixteen parties in all, hope for a niche in the proportionally structured electoral system that gives minority parties an opportunity to capture seats in the legislature.

The New National Party(NNP), formally known as the National Party(NP)-rulers of the apartheid era-is one of several parliamentary hopefuls. The United Democratic Movement(UDM), the Inkhata Freedom Party(IFP), the Freedom Front(FF) and the Pan Africanist Congress(PAC) are some of the more conspicious contenders.

The opposition, it is agreed by all authoritive analysts, will not dilodge the ANC. Rather, they would prevent the ANC scoring a two-thirds majority in parliament which will empower it to change the constitution without reference to any political party.