Cape Town — President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured South Africans that he will announce the elections date soon, as political parties prepare their electoral campaigns.
There are over 350 parties set to contest this year’s elections, with many of them urging Ramaphosa to use his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) to announce the election date.
Ramaphosa said he was consulting the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) over possible dates for the election, which must be held within 90 days, SABC News reported.
Ramaphosa confirmed the election date will be announced soon as the country enters it’s seventh administration.
“Well, the election date will be announced shortly so that South Africans should get ready for the election. This is an election year; we are bringing an end to the sixth administration and once the people of our country have decided who they would like to take their country forward in the form of a new government we enter into the seventh administration, so the election date is going to be announced soon. Does soon mean the SONA? No, the election date is going to be announced soon,” he said.
The IEC has suggested the 22 May as the election date as the elections have to take place between May and August, but the decision ultimately lies with Ramaphosa, according to IOL.
“These will be the seventh elections held under democracy since the end of apartheid in 1994. The new national council of provinces will be elected at the first sitting of each provincial legislature,” the IEC said.
The final voter registration weekend has been set for 3-4 February and the DA, ActionSA, EFF, UDM, among many other parties have encouraged Ramaphosa to announce the date to allow parties sufficient time to prepare.
Malema said there was no logical reason or excuse to prolong the election date announcement any longer. EFF encourages all unregistered South Africans to register to vote and for those who have voted before to check if they still appear on the voters’ roll.
Meanwhile, Build One South Africa movement (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane said voter registration was a priority over Ramaphosa announcing the election date.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
