South Africa To Hold General Election On May 29

South Africa will hold national and provincial elections on May 29, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office has said.

Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is expected to face a tough challenge to retain its parliamentary majority in the country’s seventh democratic election since the end of the apartheid system in 1994.

“The 2024 elections coincide with South Africa’s celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy,” the presidency said in a statement posted on X on Tuesday.

In 1994, the country held its first democratic elections after the fall of the racially segregationist system of apartheid that had brutally oppressed Black and other non-white South Africans since 1948.

“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,” Ramaphosa said.

The statement echoed sentiments he shared in his State of the Nation Address earlier this month, where he used much of his speech to highlight how far the country has come in three decades and what role his governing party has played.

Ramaphosa, 71, is seeking a second term as president in a vote that may prove historic, with opinion polls showing opposition parties gaining ground over his African National Congress (ANC) in some areas.

The ANC has led the country since 1994. But the party is now struggling in the polls, and many analysts say this year it will for the first time get less than the 50 percent parliamentary majority it has won in past elections.