Britain greets South Africa on maintaining "Mandela's legacy"

British Foreign Secretary William Hague Saturday welcomed South Africa's conclusion of its elections, congratulating the country on its determination to "maintain Mandela's legacy", Xinhua reported.

South African ruling party African National Congress (ANC) has coasted to an easy win in the country's elections despite declining national support, according to preliminary results released by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) late Friday.

The IEC said 25.3 million people had been registered to vote May 7. This represents 80.5 percent of the 31.4 million South Africans eligible to vote. The country has a population of 52 million.

In a statement, Hague said South Africans' commitment to democratic processes was "demonstrated through the high voter turnout and conduct of the election" in the 20th anniversary of the country's transition to democracy.

This commitment is "testament to the South African people's determination to maintain the legacy for which former president Mandela and others fought so strongly," Hague added.