Freedom Day is a national holiday in South Africa. It is celebrated every year on the 27th of April. This day commemorates the first democratic elections in South Africa. Freedom Day celebrates democracy and freedom in South Africa.
The first democratic election in South Africa was held on the 26th-29th of April 1994. It was the first election in which South Africans of all races could vote. It was also the first time in South African history that all voters were treated as equal citizens. It marked the end of apartheid and the beginning of a new era in South Africa.
A total of 19 political parties took part in the 1994 election, and about 20 million people voted. The election was peaceful, and international observers declared it free and fair. The African National Congress won the election. On the 10th of May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
“To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
- Nelson Mandela