South Africa marks Freedom Day on April 27 every year to celebrate the first post-apartheid elections held in the country in 1994. This years' celebration comes ahead of the national and provincial elections due in May. CGTN's Yolisa Njamela has this report.

On this day, South Africans celebrate achievements and reflect on the successes of the 25 years of freedom and democracy.

At the same time, the day also serves as a reminder of the struggle and fight for a just and democratic society South Africans enjoy today.

YOLISA NJAMELA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "South Africa has travelled quite a long and challenging road since the first all-race national general elections on the 27th of April, 1994. Those elections ended three decades of white domination."

The holding of the first non-racial elections was the culmination of years of struggle and a negotiated settlement.

A settlement which led to the unbanning of the liberation organisations, the release of political prisoners and the return of exiles and the formal all party negotiations which drafted an interim constitution.

The 1994 election paved the way towards a new democratic dispensation and a new constitution for the country.

Many agree that much has been achieved since then - but more needs to be done to lift South Africans out of poverty.

CARL NIEHAUS SPOKESPERSON, ANC VETERANS' ASSOCIATION "We have stabilized South African society coming out of a terrible situation before 1994 and there has been service delivery. I mean it's a lie to say that the South African National Congress has not delivered. It delivered on many levels of electricity supply, of housing, not enough but yes it delivered. At the same time, I think we have to acknowledge also that not enough has been done and that much more can still be done to improve the lives of the majority of people living in South Africa."

MAKHOSINI MGITYWA POLITICAL ANALYST "Look, certainly we have achieved a lot. South Africa is not the same country that it was in 1994 from social political point of view. The freedom that people enjoy I think its a different country. If you go to the townships, you see a lot of interventions that have been made from social grants they are changing people's lives. On the negative side, I don't think we have done much as a country to lift people out of poverty rather than just poverty alleviation, but I think we are failing in terms of bringing prosperity to people, like making sure people sure that people can look after themselves."

The realization of political freedom also meant that South Africa is open to other Africans - unlike before.

MAKHOSINI MGITYWA POLITICAL ANALYST "There are a lot of people from other parts of Africa, from other parts of the country. If you walk around in Hillbrow, for instance, you can get around by speaking French and other languages that are not official languages of South Africa."

The governing African National Congress is well aware that while the political freedom is now enjoyed by all - the economic freedom is still unattainable, especially for the black majority.

CARL NIEHAUS SPOKESPERSON, ANC VETERANS' ASSOCIATION "I believe that the African National Congress has to deliver on the second challenge. The latter that is we must address the issues that concerns the poorest of the poor because that is our support base. Our support base is not white suburbanites, not the green and leafy suburbs."

South Africans are set to go to the polls on May 8. This election will be the sixth since the first democratically-held elections in 1994. Yolisa Njamela, CGTN, Johannesburg, South Africa.