South Africa Votes in Local Elections: 546 Parties and Nearly 137,000 Candidates, Ramaphosa Urges Turnout
South Africa held local government elections on November 4, a day President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a public holiday. Ramaphosa and the First Lady cast their votes at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. The elections drew 546 parties and nearly 137,000 candidates for leadership of eight metros, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities, among the biggest contests in the country's democratic history.
Ramaphosa said every election since 1994 has been free and fair and public trust in the Electoral Commission remains high. Municipalities deliver water, electricity, sanitation, roads and refuse removal, he noted, urging registered voters to turn out as the government rolls out last month's revised White Paper on Local Government to reset the system.
Speaking the same day on the US midterm results, Ramaphosa said the Democrats' sweep of both houses of Congress would introduce a new era in world relations, and that South Africa hopes to find a proper path forward with Washington on trade and investment. The US moved this week to revoke South Africa's duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which he called a negative, saying Pretoria would focus on a bilateral trade agreement.
(Source: Government of South Africa)
Source: Government of South Africa
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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