南非11月4日举行地方选举：546个政党、近13.7万候选人参选，拉马福萨吁选民投票
南非11月4日举行地方政府选举，总统拉马福萨把当日定为全国公共假日，并与夫人在约翰内斯堡海德公园高中投票站投票。本届选举有546个政党、近13.7万名候选人参选，选出8个大都市、44个区市镇与205个地方市镇的领导层，是南非民主历史上规模最大的选举之一。
拉马福萨选前表示，历届选举自1994年以来均自由公正，公众对独立选举委员会信任度高；市镇负责供水、供电、卫生、道路与垃圾清运等与居民生活最贴近的服务。他呼吁登记选民前往投票站，并推行上月发布的修订版地方政府白皮书，重置整个地方治理体系。
拉马福萨同日谈及美国中期选举结果，称民主党横扫国会两院将开启世界关系的新时代，希望与华盛顿在贸易与投资上找到前进路径。美国本周宣布将撤销南非在《非洲增长与机会法》下的免税准入，拉马福萨称这是负面消息，南非将聚焦谈判双边贸易协定。
（来源：南非政府）
South Africa Votes in Local Elections: 546 Parties and Nearly 137,000 Candidates, Ramaphosa Urges Turnout
South Africa held local government elections on November 4, a day President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a public holiday. Ramaphosa and the First Lady cast their votes at Hyde Park High School in Johannesburg. The elections drew 546 parties and nearly 137,000 candidates for leadership of eight metros, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities, among the biggest contests in the country's democratic history.
Ramaphosa said every election since 1994 has been free and fair and public trust in the Electoral Commission remains high. Municipalities deliver water, electricity, sanitation, roads and refuse removal, he noted, urging registered voters to turn out as the government rolls out last month's revised White Paper on Local Government to reset the system.
Speaking the same day on the US midterm results, Ramaphosa said the Democrats' sweep of both houses of Congress would introduce a new era in world relations, and that South Africa hopes to find a proper path forward with Washington on trade and investment. The US moved this week to revoke South Africa's duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which he called a negative, saying Pretoria would focus on a bilateral trade agreement.
(Source: Government of South Africa)
来源：南非政府
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
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