South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called the general and provincial elections in the country for May 29, his office said.
"President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in accordance with section 49(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, read with section 17 of the Electoral act of 1998, determined 29 May 2024 as the date for the 2024 General National and Provincial Elections," the office said in a statement.
The president had previously held consultations with the electoral commission and provincial governors to discuss the date of the elections and the country's readiness for holding them, the South African presidency added.
"The 2024 elections coincide with South Africa's celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy. Therefore, President Ramaphosa calls on all eligible voters to fully participate in this important and historic milestone of our democratic calendar," the statement read.
Since the first election after the end of the apartheid regime in 1994, South African center-left party the African National Congress (ANC) has been holding a majority of seats in the parliament's lower house and thus ruling it alone, with the exception of the Government of National Unity from 1994 to 1999.