The Presidnecy recently hosted a National Consultation on "marking 10 years of freedom/democracy". On April 27, 2004 the country will celebrate the tenth anniversary of democracy in South Africa.
The consultation was seen as an opportunity for Government and others to share their plans and ideas to ensure that the celebrations are national in character and content. The timeframes discussed indicated that the celebrations will culminate in national events on 27 April 2004 and that the National Elections were likely to take place shortly before that. However, the President still needs to confirm the date for the National Elections.

Seeing as the celebrations and the National Elections will roughly coincide, the importance of the media in reporting on these events and being able to distinguish between national events and party political events was raised.

It is, however, important for particularly broadcasters and ICASA to have an indication as to when the Elections are likely to take place. This will assist the industry in its coverage preparations.