27 April: South Africa's Freedom Day

 

South Africa celebrates 'Freedom Day', 30 years after the end of apartheid, with mixed feelings

In 2024, South Africas are celebrating their first multiracial elections from 1994, and the advent of democracy. But the legacy of Nelson Mandela's party seems poorer than ever, and many call for change while young people seem to have lost faith in elections.

People attend Freedom Day celebrations in Pretoria, South Africa [Themba Hadebe/AP]

On 27 April 1994, after a historic election, Nelson Mandela was elected president, and the country turned the page on the apartheid years.

Freedom Day is now a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on 27 April, to
commemorate the first post-apartheid elections and the day the new constitution was introduced.

It is also a moment to honour the "unsung heroes and heroines who fought for freedom and paved the way for an equal, representative, non-racial nation", the government says.

The day means a lot for South Africans, including for the ones living abroad.

"For me Freedom means Transformation", one the representative of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party in France, Mary Paccard, told me.

This year, 27 April marks the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s first democratic elections.

The government decided to take a whole month, in April, to "reflect on the progress made over our democratic journey thus far and consider how we can further strengthen our democracy."

From progress to decline

Since April 1994, Mandela's party, the ANC has remained in power.

The economy has continued to develop, and the country is now one of the most industrialised on the continent.

One of ANC's most striking successes is the introduction of a minimum wage.

South Africa's social benefit system is among the most developed on the continent, and a lifeline for the poorest: almost 30 percent of the population benefits from it, not counting the post-Covid aid still distributed.

But, despite progress, South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, according to the Gini index.

But from 2012, the South African economy made very little progress, with a significant decline in growth.

The "rainbow nation" envisioned by Mandela is nowadays afflicted by poverty, inequality, corruption and crime.

Jobs are scarce, and many young people get sucked into crime.

Election year

For all these reasons, the ANC is losing momentum.

As South Africans are called for general elections on 29 May, the party could for the first time since coming to power 30 years ago lose its absolute majority in Parliament.

The same goes for the eight regions out of nine that the party governs in the country so far.

So, many observers expect a potential coalition government.

On 13 April, the organisation Defend Our Democracy organised a conference in Johannesburg to discuss the best way to approach possible future negotiations.

If the leaders of ANC still claim they can win a majority, other parties are getting organised. 

Meanwhile, one of the main challenges will be for parties to convince young voters to believe in democracy again, as their parents had with the end of apartheid.