tania paige reports. >> reporter: the blue of the democratic alliance filled the hall like a rising tide. although it's more popular than ever, it's small compared to the governing national congress. it's the biggest party. >> if our government was doing its work properly south africa would be attracting more investments, and the economy would be growing faster to create the jobs we need to tackle our biggest problem, which is unemployment and poverty. >> all opposition parties say they can create the jobs. the african national congress has not. the da has a problem. >> the democratic alliance is perceived to be a party that protects the interests of whites. some of its leaders and the vast majority of the crowd are black. that perception holds it back. the a.n.c. has the influence of nelson mandela in its corner. it's giving people house, better services and social grants. they will not turp their backs -- turn their backs. >> the da and newcomers say the a.n.c. is corrupt. efs is promising to nationalize mines and banks and is tarting first-time voters, who are passing on their way to

in a moment we'll go live, but first to tania paige in the western cape. i understand it's a rural area and men south africans live in the country side. what are the main concerns for voters there? a. well, some of this rural areas - voters are lining up behind me there. the queue moving a little slowly. it is moving, however, so people are being patient. they are getting ids checked and pass books and id stamped to confirm they had their say in this historic election. workers' rights is a big issue. there were some violent farm worker strikes here a year or so ago, people wanting fair pay and better conditions on the farms that they work. also land reform, because 20 years after the end of apartheid most of the land is in white hands. this is an exciting day for those voting for the first time. those born in a free south africa, and also a day where people are reflecting, particularly those that voted for the first time in 1994. >> i'm going to share with you what i've gone through in 1994. >> reporter: this man's history students listen intently as he de

. >> tania paig live in pretoria. in a noisy pretoria. >> let's go to malawi and president joyce banda who nullified the election protest, days after demanding a recount. the electoral commission rejected allegations that vote rigs was widespread. we speak to our correspondent. can joyce banda the president nullify the election? >> we spoke to the attorney-general , as far as he is concerned she's the head of tat. she is within her rights to do so. mitt call parties -- political parties, if unhappy can take the matter to court. people here are in shock. some didn't know. there has been a mad rush behind me. the head of the electoral commission walked in and is expected to give another news conference. i get a sense that people didn't know that would take place, it came as a shock. people are waiting to see how malawians are unhappy, and how they'll react. >> this nullification of the result comes after joyce banda made dramatic claims of there having been vote rigging on a technical level. she said that the opposition

al jazeera's tania paige is in vittoria. >> zooum re and his party were -- zoomlion and his party were expected to win. he's leading a country where economic plans are increasing. what is the plan. >> reporter: well, the government has what it calls the ndp or national development plan, a 30-year massive infrastructure develop. this is partly to correct the wrongs of the past, didn't have roads, they didn't have schools or clinics, they need to build those from scratch. also throwing in the future, they need to improve the roads, bridges and ports so people can do business easily, to encourage more business and foreign investors to come and create hundreds of thousands of jobs through building the projects. >> al jazeera's tonya paige in vittoria. >>> we are following breaking news and santa barbara california. seven have been killed in a drive by shooting ram pain, new the uc santa basha karm u the shooter acted alone and is awe monning the dead -- amongst the dead, found dead in his car. it's unclear if he has hit by an officer's bullet or he took his life. several others were injure

. >> al jazeera tania paige joining us from johannesburg. thank you for being with us. >>> the u.s. is offering to help locate 300 young girls abducted by a school in niamey, by a -- nigeria, by a rebel group boko haram. the girls have been missing three weeks. some were forced to marry their abductors, others sold to fighters. rely tists are criticise -- relatives are criticising authority, saying they are left with more questions than answers. >> reporter: confusion continues over how many girls were abducted by harmed me in north-eastern nigeria two weeks ago. police say 276 girls are missing out of 300 initially taken. a figure higher than what was reported by the government and military. police say it was because they were visiting children from other schools, unaccounted for. some relatives say this might be true. several of his nieces were abb doubted and are missing -- abducted and are missing. he came to the capital to try to find them. >> there are other girls from our community, from the broader area. and what all the secondary schools. when parents are called to right do