CAPE TOWN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Wednesday briefed President Cyril Ramaphosa on preparations towards the sixth national and provincial elections due in 2019.
At the meeting in Cape Town, the IEC indicated some of the areas that need to be addressed before the next election, including outstanding boundary disputes, the tabling of the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill and the capturing of outstanding addresses on the voters' roll, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
"The IEC is nevertheless confident of yet another successful, credible, free and fair election on the date to be proclaimed by the President," Diko said.
Ramaphosa is encouraged by the work being done by the IEC and calls upon all South Africans to check their voter registration details, particularly their addresses on the voters roll, to ensure that all eligible voters are able to cast their vote in the next election, said Diko.
General elections will be held in South Africa in 2019 to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. They will be the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994, and the second election held since the death of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, the first black president in South Africa.
This election will result in the selection of the next President of South Africa.
Under South Africa's Constitution, the National Assembly and provincial legislatures shall have a term of five years and that elections must be held within 90 days of the end of term. The last general elections were held on May 7, 2014.
Ramaphosa, who became president in February replacing Jacob Zuma, will lead the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the election to retain majority status and a full term in office as president.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the main political opposition party, is potentially in a good position to become a challenger for power.
The ANC is fighting to regain ground after it emerged quite bruised from the 2016 local government elections, losing the key metropolitan municipalities of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay where it dominated since 1994.
