Friday marked SA’s 20th anniversary of the first democratic election
Exactly 20 years ago on Friday, May 16, South Africa’s first democratic President took the Oath of Office and declared: "Never, never and never again shall this beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world."
“As the whole world watched on May 16 to be exact, almost 7 300 days ago, our freedom became the celebration for the entire world, as our President reached out to friends and foes alike, even going as far as to offering praise to the military that once used brutal force to implement the racist policy of apartheid,” chairperson of the IEC, Pansy Tlakula said.
Tlakula has also declared the 2014 national and provincial elections free and fair.
“May 16, thus, marked the twentieth anniversary of that historic day when President Nelson Mandela took the Oath of Office to confirm our country and nation’s commitment to advance our hard-earned democratic values.
“Two decades ago we affirmed our dedication to respecting and upholding core democratic values including the right of citizens to choose their representatives through regular, free, and fair elections; to equal protection under the law; and to freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of thought and conscience.
“Today as we celebrate two decades democracy and as we conclude our fifth democratic national and provincial elections we can affirm to one another and to the world – democracy is alive and well and thriving in our land,” Tlakula sai.
“On Wednesday, May 7, 18-million South Africans stood together as nation and as they did in 2009, 2004, 1999 and most famously in 1994.
“There is no more tangible symbol of nationhood and of inclusivity than participation in an election.
“Even as we make our individual choices, it is a powerful reminder of what binds us together as a nation and as a people. We as the Electoral Commission of South Africa are proud to have served as the conduit through which the people have made their voices heard.”
National 2014 Election Results
A record 29 political parties contested these elections and 13 have received sufficient votes to have representation in the National Assembly. These parties are:
* The African People’s Convention (APC) with one seat
* The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) with one seat.
* AGANG South Africa with two seats.
* The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) with three seats.
* The African Independent Congress (AIC) with three seats.
* The Congress of the People (COPE) with three seats.
* The United Democratic Movement (UDM) with four seats.
* The Vryheidsfront Plus (VF Plus) with four seats.
* The National Freedom Party (NFP) with six seats.
* The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 10 seats.
* The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 25 seats.
* The Democratic Alliance (DA with 89 seats .
* And finally, the majority party in our fifth National Assembly with a total of 249 seats is the African National Congress (ANC).
Tlakula congratulate all the contesting parties and to those candidates who have won seats in the national and provincial legislatures.
“We hope that you will serve South Africa with pride, honour, integrity and humility.”
