ELECTION EXCITEMENT

Elections are the process of electing someone to public office. The people elected in national elections work in Parliament, where policies are made that affect the country. The people who are elected in local government elections work in municipalities, where municipal by-laws are made.

In 1994, South Africa had its first democratic elections, which meant that every citizen – regardless of gender and race – could vote. Before that, the vote was restricted to white people in the country and nobody else was allowed to vote.

South Africa has national and local government elections, which take place every five years. National elections are held in years ending in 4 and 9, and the last national elections were in 2019.

Local government elections are held in years ending in 1 and 6, and the last local government elections were in 2016.

The next local government elections are on Monday, 1 November 2021.