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South Africa to hold national and provincial elections on May 29

Governing African National Congress party will lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994, predict political analysts

Published: Wed 21 Feb 2024, 2:14 PM

Updated: Wed 21 Feb 2024, 2:15 PM

  • By
  • Reuters

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President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 18, 2024. — Reuters file

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa attends the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 18, 2024. — Reuters file

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

The elections are expected to be the most competitive since the end of the apartheid system.

Political analysts widely predict that the governing African National Congress (ANC) party 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.

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.

"Therefore, President Ramaphosa calls on all eligible voters to fully participate in this important and historic milestone of our democratic calendar."



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