This year marks 27 years of democracy since the country’s very first democratic election held on April 27, 1994.
Ahead of Freedom Day celebrations on Tuesday, IFP national spokesperson and MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the day signifies the long road ahead in consolidating the democracy through a change of government, either through coalition or a total change in political party governance in our country.
“Freedom Day goes beyond just marking our hard-won freedom and commemorating the first democratic post-apartheid non-racial elections. It represents the unity in our diversity and our choice as a nation to choose democratic principles and ideals; our choice to choose to honour, uphold and defend our Constitution; and to choose to continue our collective fight as a nation for socio-economic liberation and justice for all South Africans.
“While we commemorate all those, who have sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy the political freedoms we enjoy today, we must encourage all young South Africans to exercise these hard-won freedoms by firstly voting in the upcoming elections and secondly by honouring the legacy of all the heroes and heroines who are no longer among us by continuing their fight for a better, more united and more economically diverse country.”
Meanwhile, Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said people should not harbour the misconception that being able to vote means that you are free.
“South Africa is too entangled in corruption, crime, poverty and unemployment to be free.
“True freedom is when you have a job, can make a good living, are safe from crime and when the government of the day is responsible and acts in the best interests of the people. In South Africa, however, quite the opposite is true,” said Groenewald.
Political Bureau