Every year on April 27, South Africans celebrate Freedom Day. The day is in honor of the first election in which South Africans of all races could vote. In that election, in 1994, Nelson Mandela (on the right) was elected president of the country.

Freedom Day is a national holiday in South Africa. It is celebrated every year on April 27. This day commemorates the first democratic elections in South Africa. Freedom Day celebrates democracy and freedom in South Africa.

The first democratic election in South Africa was held on April 26–29, 1994. It was the first election in which South Africans of all races could vote. It was also the first time in South African history that all voters were treated as equal citizens. It marked the end of  apartheid and the beginning of a new era in South Africa.

A total of 19 political parties took part in the 1994 election, and about 20 million people voted. The election was peaceful, and international observers declared it free and fair. The African National Congress won the election. On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Freedom Day was celebrated for the first time on April 27, 1995. The holiday can be compared to Independence Day (July 4) in the United States and Bastille Day (July 14) in France.