Public holiday officially declared for voting day – here’s what comes next

 ·26 Feb 2024

Important updates regarding the 2024 general elections have been published.

The Department of Home Affairs has officially declared May 29, 2024, as a public holiday in South Africa, and the Electoral Commission has published the election timetable.

The department processed the declaration made by President Cyril Ramaphosa, with the day of the public holiday coinciding with the date of the 2024 national election.

Ramaphosa announced the election date on 20 February 2024, but the date was only officially gazetted on Friday (23 February).

An election date is not automatically considered a public holiday, thus the additional gazette to that effect must also be submitted.

In addition to officially putting the election date on the calendar and making it a public holiday to ensure that all South Africans are free and available to vote, the gazetting of the date also marks the closure of voter registration.

The voters roll officially closed at midnight on 23 February.

What comes next

The 2024 elections coincide with South Africa’s celebration of 30 years of freedom and democracy.

The Independent Electoral Commission has gazetted an extensive schedule outlining the series of events which will occur before, during, and after the elections.

The election timetable provides important dates, including the cut-off for political parties to submit candidate forms, potential voters to inform the Electoral Commission of voting abroad, and the dates of overseas and special voting.

Starting Monday (26 February), the voter roll will be available for inspection until March 4th. Any individual who wishes to raise objections must do so before this deadline.

For those who opt for a special vote, applications can be made between April 15th and May 3rd, with special voting scheduled to take place on May 27th and 28th, 2024.

If citizens residing abroad intend to vote at the embassy, they should notify the IEC by April 22nd.

Other important dates are:

  • 4 March – Cut-off date for objections to the provisional voters’ roll;
  • 8 March – Cut-off date for submission of list of candidates and parties;
  • 12 March – Cut-off date for chief electoral officer to certify the voters’ roll;
  • 10 April – Final candidate and party list contesting in the election to be presented following the objection process;
  • 17 – 18 May – Special voting at foreign missions (07h00 – 19h00);
  • 27 – 28 May – Special voting to take place (09h00 – 17h00);
  • 29 May – Official voting day.

Read: End of the line for voter registration

Show comments
Subscribe to our daily newsletter