It appears President Cyril Ramaphosa is running scared as he refuses to participate in the much-anticipated Presidential Debates which were scheduled to be aired live on SABC in the build-up the 8 May Elections.

The Presidential Debates NPC Coordinator, Dr Bheki Shongwe, has written to all participants, indicating that the debates have been cancelled. Shongwe said the main reason for the cancellation was that “All indications at present point to the ruling party not accepting the invitation and not participating in the debates.”

We therefore challenge President Ramaphosa and the ANC to not shy away from the upcoming Presidential Debates and accept the invitation to participate. This would allow the debates to be rescheduled and go ahead.

Cyril Ramaphosa is running for re-election as President of the Republic. The least we can expect is for him to debate fellow party leaders on their respective plans to deal with our country’s most pressing challenges - to be moderated by an independent body.

It is important that this election is a contestation of ideas. We need to debate real solutions to the Eskom crisis, our economy, corruption, and the safety of our citizens. This is an opportunity to demonstrate to South Africans the differences between the policy offer of the DA and the ANC.

President Ramaphosa has promised to create a culture of transparency and accountability, and this provides him with a perfect opportunity to break with the past and show South Africans he is different to his predecessor.

We trust Ramaphosa will come to his senses and reverse his decision not to participate, unless he has something serious to hide from the people of South Africa.

Issued by The DA