South Africa gets an extra public holiday for 2024 elections
President Ramaphosa has declared Wednesday, 29 May 2024 as the date for South Africa’s seventh national elections since 1994.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared Wednesday, 29 May 2024 as the date for South Africa’s seventh national elections since 1994.
That date falls in exactly 14 weeks – or 98 days – from the date of publishing.
The day will also be a public holiday in the country.
It will be Mzansi’s 14th public holiday of the year – although one of those will be ‘lost’ – here’s WHY.
Ramaphosa determined the date “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”, according to a statement released by the Presidency on Tuesday.
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He added that he had also consulted with Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and all nine provincial premiers on the date and preparedness.
“The president convened a meeting with all nine provincial premiers and the IEC to discuss the state of readiness for the general elections,” the statement continued.
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA ANNOUNCES 2024 GENERAL ELECTION DATE
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) February 20, 2024
President @CyrilRamaphosa 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 the 2024…
COME OUT AND VOTE ON 29 MAY 2024, URGES CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
With the SA national elections date announcement on Tuesday, Ramamphosa urged all eligible voters to participate in this “historic milestone of our democratic calendar”.
“Beyond the fulfilment of our constitutional obligation, these upcoming elections are also a celebration of our democratic journey and a determination of the future that we all desire.
“I call on all South Africans to exercise their democratic right to vote and for those who will be campaigning to do so peacefully, within the full observance of the law. We also urge unregistered voters to use the online registration platform to register,” added Ramaphosa in the statement.
The 2024 national election is set to be the most highly contested since the dawn of democracy in 1994, with the ANC expected to drop below 50% and lose its majority in parliament.
Recent polls suggest the ruling ANC is expected to lose its national majority and receive around 40.5% of the vote.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) should narrowly hold on to its position as the official opposition with 20.5% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 19.6%.
ALSO READ: IEC launched online voter registration for ex-pats