( CNN ) April 27 is celebrated as Freedom Day in South Africa , commemorating the country 's first democratic elections in 1994 election which saw Nelson Mandela elected as president . The day is widely seen as marking the start of a free South Africa after the fall of apartheid , a system of racial segregation implemented by the white-minority government in South Africa for decades . This year 's celebrations come against the backdrop of a spate of anti-immigrant attacks earlier in April in which a number of people lost their lives . Using the # FreedomDay hashtag , people across the country and beyond took to Twitter to celebrate this year 's event , express their views and send out their wishes -- including the South African government . Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the people of South Africa and sent out a message of hope . Many South Africans used Twitter to denounce the recent violence ... ... whilst others remembered iconic South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela . Freedom Day did n't go unnoticed by Google , who 've changed the doodle to honor the day . Here 's a selection of some of other # FreedomDay tweets .
South Africa marks 21 years since the first free election . The African National Congress (ANC) won a landslide victory in 1994 and has ruled for more than four decades ever since.