A potential twenty-five million voters in South Africa have begun the process of registering to take part in presidential and parliamentary elections next year.

Reports speak of a chaotic start with some registration centres not opening and confusion about where people should go to register.

Even the President, Nelson Mandela, was sent to the wrong registration centre.

The BBC correspondent in South Africa says the process has been dominated by allegations of a conspiracy to deprive white South Africans of their vote.

Correspondents say many conservative white South Africans retain identity cards dating back to the apartheid era, and have refused to apply for new cards, which are required for voter registration.

These are the second national elections since the end of apartheid, and the first time that South Africans from all races have been required to register in advance.