Photo : Themba Hadebe, AP
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Themba Hadebe, AP
IN BRIEF
Vetriselvi Baskaran
South Africa: 30 years of democracy
On 27 April, the country celebrated its 30 years of democracy. President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded the achievements of his party since the end of apartheid. He gave a speech marking “Freedom Day.” He stated: “South Africa’s democracy is young. What we’ve achieved in these short 30 years is something of which all of us should be proud. This is an infinitely better place than it was 30 years ago.” The celebrations additionally come ahead of the presidential elections scheduled on 29 May. He stated: “We have made much progress and we are determined to do much more.” The country had its first democratic election in 1994, African National Congress (ANC) won the election, and Nelson Mandela became the country’s first President. (“Ramaphosa hails ANC record as South Africa marks 30 years of democracy,” Al Jazeera, 27 April 2024)