Deputy President Paul Mashatile said South Africans would head to the polls on May 24 and that ANC members should be prepared when they went out and canvassed for the party. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo/Independent Newspapers
Some political parties and activists have rejected the date hinted at for voting day in the upcoming National General Elections – May 24, a Friday –saying this could reduce voter turnout.
In what appeared to be a slip of the tongue, Deputy President Paul Mashatile said South Africans would head to the polls on May 24 and that ANC members should be prepared when they went out and canvassed for the party.
“We must go out there, united with one common purpose, to ensure that come the 24th of May, when we go to the elections...” Mashatile said in a clip doing the rounds on social media.
As per a long-standing rule, the country’s president announces the election date.
IFP National spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa cautioned the ANC against confirming May 24 as voting day.
“We don’t support having the elections on May 24, 2024 as hinted at by Deputy President Paul Mashatile. This is meant to suppress voter turnout as this will create a long weekend.
“They are deliberately trying to stifle voter turnout, to prevent people from going to vote. Every time we have elections in South Africa, they have always taken place on a Wednesday to maximise voter turnout,” the IFP spokesperson said.
Hlengwa emphasised that holding the elections on a Friday would be an epic failure, and advised that the elections should instead be held on May 29.
He claimed that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s failure to announce the election date was a sign of a man who was terrified of losing the elections.
African for Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula said the ANC was playing politics, and that it was trying to play the game unfairly.
“The president was supposed to announce the election date during the State of the Nation Address. Then, a day before that, his spokesperson announced that he would only do so in 15 days’ time. Now we hear this,” said Zungula.
Activist and Forum for Change spokesperson Dennis Bloem said it was shocking to hear Mashatile issuing an election date, as this was a clear demonstration that he sought to undermine the president.
“For us, it is very clear that something very serious was brewing inside the Presidency.
“Deputy President Paul Mashatile was sidelined during Sona and he was not on the Speaker’s list. As the forum, we say if it is true that the government is thinking of the 24th of May as the election date, then we must say it loud and clear that we reject that date,” he added.
He echoed the sentiments that a Friday voting date would never work, adding that the majority of young people would use the long weekend for a holiday instead of exercising their democratic right to vote.
“We are saying that date must be on a Wednesday,” concluded Bloem.
Cape Times
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