2024 Elections: The Role of Civil Society

The 2024 South African general election is being touted as unprecedented, and one that will define our country’s trajectory, with some contrasting it to our first democratic election in 1994. There is concern that civil society is not organised, coordinated and ambitious enough to make the most of the opportunities that the general election can bring. This supposition is based on the premise that the sector, which operates outside of the political party space, can play a productive role beyond conferencing here as well – and several emerging initiatives do indeed appear promising in this regard. The aim of this convening is to better understand the potential role of civil society around the elections and beyond.