South Africa's general election will be held on April 22nd, President Kgalema Motlanthe said today.
South Africa's ruling ANC, in power since the end of apartheid in 1994, is widely expected to win the election, but it faces an unprecedented challenge from the new Congress of the People (COPE) party.
COPE, formed by ANC dissidents in December, could gain enough black votes to deny the ANC a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which enables the ruling party to easily push through changes to the constitution.
Mr Motlanthe, in announcing the date, said the formal proclamation of the election day would take place later.
The government is currently opposing legal action from a smaller political party seeking voting rights for South Africans abroad and the president's lawyers gave the High Court assurances on Monday that the election date will not be proclaimed - or officially published in the government gazette -- in the next few days.
ANC leader Jacob Zuma, who enjoys the support of trade unions and the Communist Party, is expected to become president despite revived graft charges, creating political uncertainty in Africa's biggest economy.
Several ex-ANC heavyweights have joined COPE, and South Africa's former deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is preparing to leave the ANC and join the breakaway party, the Sunday Timesnewspaper reported.
Mr Mlambo-Ngcuka was deputy president under Thabo Mbeki until he was ousted as state president by the ANC last September.
Reuters