South Africa will hold national and provincial elections on 29 May, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said on Tuesday evening.
The elections are expected to be the most competitive since the end of apartheid.
Political analysts widely predict that the ANC will lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994, with record power cuts, poor service delivery and high levels of unemployment among voter complaints.
South Africans will elect a new national assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each of the country’s nine provinces before the national assembly elects the president.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has in accordance with section 49(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, read with section 17 of the Electoral act of 1998, determined 29 May 2024, as the date for 2024 General National and Provincial elections https://t.co/xt4caT2LNX pic.twitter.com/Z9Av5i87Xb
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) February 20, 2024
Ramaphosa, 71, is seeking a second term as president. He has struggled to lift economic growth significantly since taking over from Jacob Zuma as president in 2018.
“The 2024 elections coincide with South Africa’s celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy,” Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement.
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“Therefore, President Ramaphosa calls on all eligible voters to fully participate in this important and historic milestone of our democratic calendar.” — Anait Miridzhanian, (c) 2024 Reuters