Internet reacts to election date announcement

by Bongiwe Mati

The date is out, South Africa is finally set to hold its sixth democratic elections on the 29th of May 2024. The news comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa consulted with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) about the election date, and a further consultation with Premiers of all nine provinces to gauge the state’s readiness for the elections.

As the country celebrates 30 years of democracy, 2024 also marks six terms since the African National Congress (ANC) came into power taking over from the apartheid led government that ran from 1948 till 1992, just two years before the first democratic elections held in 1994.

Excited to hear of the election date announcement, social media users and politicians from different parties took to popular social networks to share their thoughts:

 

Others saw the announcement as a way to promote their favourite political parties commenting:

One user imagined the ruling party exiting the office commenting:

One user shared his readiness to welcome President Cyril Ramaphosa back in office, commenting:

Also see: It’s official, this is the election date