Looking forward to 2016

In 2016, we look forward to the following...

Local Government Elections

The African National Congress (ANC) is worried that its electoral support may dip to below 60% in the 2016 Local Government Elections (LGE), which are expected to be fiercely contested.

This is contained in the party's Secretary-General, Gwede Mantashe's, organisational report.

Mantashe delivered the report at the party's National General Council. 

The ANC saw a decline of 3% in last year's general election to 65%.

In the document, the party says a 3% decline is a global norm. However, it is worried that achieving below 60% of the vote could be a dangerous sign.

6oth anniversary of the Women's March

South Africa commemorates Women's Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on August 9, 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The Government of South Africa declared August women’s month and August 9 is celebrated annually as Women’s Day. 

2016 marks 60 years since the march.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 

The tournament will take place in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.  


US GENERAL ELECTIONS


The United States presidential election of 2016, scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2016, will be the 58th U.S. presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors who in turn will elect a new president and vice president through the electoral college. The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the incumbent, President Barack Obama, from running for a third term.

National Days commemorated annually

Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is a national day that is commemorated annually on March 21 to remind South Africans about the sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa.

Freedom Day

Freedom Day, celebrated on April 27, is an annual celebration of South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections of 1994. The 1994 election paved the way towards a new democratic dispensation and a new constitution for the country.

Youth Day

June 16 is celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa to memorialise the Soweto Uprising in the country.

Women's Day

Women's Day marks the anniversary of the great women's march of 1956, where women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the carrying of pass books.

Heritage Day

Heritage Day is a South African public holiday celebrated on September 24. On this day, South Africans across the spectrum are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.

Reconciliation Day

The Day of Reconciliation is held annually on December 16. The holiday came into effect in 1994 after the end of Apartheid, with the intention of fostering reconciliation and national unity