While the elections got off to a smooth start, there were irregularities reported in a number of provinces on Wednesday, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Brigalia Bam said.

In Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal an area manager lost all her voting material including ballot papers, Bam said briefing the media on the progress of the country's fourth democratic election.

She said also in Nkandla some 50 marked ballot papers were found.

In Ulundi 100 marked ballot papers were found and the presiding officer, who confessed to police, was arrested and due to appear in court on Thursday.

In Gauteng there was not much to report except "very very long queues", said Bam.

"So long that in some areas they ran short of ballot papers... papers have been sent [to replenish]," she said.

In the North West ballot boxes and ink, to mark one's finger after voting, went missing while two presiding officers were injured in a car accident.

In Britz a Democratic Alliance official was handed a marked ballot paper.

The presiding officer was fired, Bam said.

A presiding officer was also found acting in a "partisan manner" in Limpopo, she said, while there were challenges transporting voting material to mountainous areas of the province.

Voting in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape proceeded smoothly.

A presiding officer was shot in the Free State during a robbery, Bam said, adding it was not a politically-motivated shooting.

Voting in Mpumalanga was also going off smoothly.

"The best news... is there has been no intimidation, no threats and no violence been reported," she said.