Election Day is a public holiday
South Africans love public holidays. This year we will enjoy a record 13 public holidays
Election Day, Wednesday, May 8, IS a public holiday. Confusion has reigned in the Dundee area with the Courier fielding many calls from residents unclear if the day is an official holiday or just a school holiday.
President Ramaphosa declared the day a public holiday when he proclaimed May 8 election day.
The official statement from the Presidency reads:
“The President has also in terms of Section 2A of the Public Holidays Act of 1994 declared 8 May 2019 a public holiday throughout the country. The Presidency advised employers to note the declaration that 8 May would be a public holiday to facilitate voting for all South Africans.”
South Africans love public holidays. This year we will enjoy a record 13 public holidays … Notably, Youth Day (16 June) is the only public holiday that falls on a Sunday. This means the next day, Monday (17 June) becomes an additional public holiday in terms of the Public Holidays Act.
This year workers only ‘lost’ Freedom Day (April 27) which fell on a Saturday – few got to enjoy the holiday as the major supermarkets are in any case open on public holidays and Saturdays while smaller shops and offices are usually closed on Saturdays. Bank employees were those who could say they were off that day!
A list of public holidays for this year reads thus:
1 January: New Year’s Day
21 March: Human Rights Day
19 April: Good Friday*
22 April: Family Day*
27 April: Freedom Day
1 May: Workers’ Day
8 May: Election Day
16 June: Youth Day
17 June: Public holiday**
9 August: National Women’s Day
24 September: Heritage Day
16 December: Day of Reconciliation
25 December: Christmas Day
26 December: Day of Goodwill
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