General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994.[1] The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.
Millions queued in lines over a four-day voting period. Altogether, 19,726,579 votes were counted, and 193,081 were rejected as invalid. As widely expected, the African National Congress (ANC), whose slate incorporated the labour confederation COSATU and the South African Communist Party, won a sweeping victory, taking 62 percent of the vote, just short of the two-thirds majority required to unilaterally amend the Interim Constitution. As required by that document, the ANC formed a Government of National Unity with the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party, the two other parties that won more than 20 seats in the National Assembly. The governing National Party polled just over 20%, and was thus eligible for a post of Vice President to incumbent president De Klerk. The new National Assembly's first act was to elect Nelson Mandela as President, making him the country's first black chief executive.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) entered the election late, and it was added to the already-printed ballot papers by means of a sticker.[2] In rural areas with limited infrastructure, people queued "for days" in order to vote.[2]
The 90 members of the Senate were chosen, 10 from each province, by the newly elected provincial legislatures. Each province's Senate seats were allocated in proportion to the parties' representation in the provincial legislature.
Determination of seats in the Senate as a consequence of the 26–29 April 1994 provincial elections
In 1997, on the adoption of the final Constitution, the Senate became the National Council of Provinces; its political makeup remained the same, but members were divided into permanent and special delegates, as described in the following table.
Initial determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces at the adoption of the new Constitution on 4 February 1997
Following the elections, 27 April subsequently became a national public holiday, Freedom Day.[4]
In a Sunday Independent article on the 20th anniversary of the election, Steven Friedman, who headed the IEC's information analysis department during the election, stated that the lack of a voters roll made verifying the results of the election difficult, and there were widespread accusations of cheating.[2] Friedman characterised the election as a "technical disaster but a political triumph", and intimated that the final results were as a result of a negotiated compromise, rather than being an accurate count of the votes cast, stating that it was impossible to produce an accurate result under the circumstances that the election was held. He wrote that he believed that the result of the election, which gave KwaZulu-Natal to the IFP; gave the National Party 20% of the vote share, and a Deputy President position; and held the ANC back from the two-thirds majority with the ability to unilaterally write the final constitution, helped prevent a civil war.[2]
References
^South Africa: Parliamentary Chamber: National Assembly: Elections held in 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union
^ abcd"The bargain that saved us in 1994". The Sunday Independent.
^ abConstitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, Schedule 6: "Transitional Arrangements", item 7.
^"S Africa marks democracy anniversary". aljazeera.com.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1994 South African general election.
US Department of the Army, South Africa Country Study, "The 1994 Elections"
January 19, 2023
1994, south, african, general, election, general, elections, were, held, south, africa, between, april, 1994, elections, were, first, which, citizens, races, were, allowed, take, part, were, therefore, also, first, held, with, universal, suffrage, election, co. General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994 1 The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission IEC and marked the culmination of the four year process that ended apartheid 1994 South African general election 1989 26 29 April 1994 1999 All 400 seats in the National Assembly of South Africa201 seats needed for a majorityTurnout86 87 First party Second party Third party Leader Nelson Mandela F W de Klerk Mangosuthu ButheleziParty ANC National IFPLast election Banned 94 Seats won 252 82 43Seat change 8 Popular vote 12 237 655 3 983 690 2 058 294Percentage 62 65 20 39 10 54 Swing 27 81 pp Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party Leader Constand Viljoen Zach de Beer Clarence MakwetuParty Freedom Front Democratic Party PACLast election 33 BannedSeats won 9 7 5Seat change New 26 Popular vote 424 555 338 426 243 478Percentage 2 17 1 73 1 25 Swing New 18 27 pp State President before electionF W de KlerkNational Elected President Nelson MandelaANCBallot paper used in 1994 election Millions queued in lines over a four day voting period Altogether 19 726 579 votes were counted and 193 081 were rejected as invalid As widely expected the African National Congress ANC whose slate incorporated the labour confederation COSATU and the South African Communist Party won a sweeping victory taking 62 percent of the vote just short of the two thirds majority required to unilaterally amend the Interim Constitution As required by that document the ANC formed a Government of National Unity with the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party the two other parties that won more than 20 seats in the National Assembly The governing National Party polled just over 20 and was thus eligible for a post of Vice President to incumbent president De Klerk The new National Assembly s first act was to elect Nelson Mandela as President making him the country s first black chief executive The date 27 April is now a public holiday in South Africa Freedom Day Contents 1 Background 2 Results 2 1 National Assembly 2 2 Senate 3 Provincial legislature results 3 1 Eastern Cape 3 2 Free State 3 3 Gauteng 3 4 KwaZulu Natal 3 5 Mpumalanga 3 6 North West 3 7 Northern Cape 3 8 Northern Province 3 9 Western Cape 4 Legacy 5 References 6 External linksBackground EditThe Inkatha Freedom Party IFP entered the election late and it was added to the already printed ballot papers by means of a sticker 2 In rural areas with limited infrastructure people queued for days in order to vote 2 Results EditNational Assembly Edit The 400 members of the National Assembly were chosen from party lists in proportion to each party s share of the national ballot PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress12 237 65562 65252National Party3 983 69020 3982Inkatha Freedom Party2 058 29410 5443Freedom Front424 5552 179Democratic Party338 4261 737Pan Africanist Congress243 4781 255African Christian Democratic Party88 1040 452Africa Muslim Party34 4660 180African Moderates Congress Party27 6900 140Dikwankwetla Party19 4510 100Federal Party17 6630 090Minority Front13 4330 070Sport Organisation for Collective Contributions and Equal Rights10 5750 050African Democratic Movement9 8860 050Women s Rights Peace Party6 4340 030Ximoko Progressive Party6 3200 030Keep It Straight and Simple Party5 9160 030Workers List Party4 1690 020Luso South African Party3 2930 020Total19 533 498100 00400Valid votes19 533 49899 02Invalid blank votes193 1120 98Total votes19 726 610100 00Registered voters turnout22 709 15286 87Source African Elections DatabaseSenate Edit The 90 members of the Senate were chosen 10 from each province by the newly elected provincial legislatures Each province s Senate seats were allocated in proportion to the parties representation in the provincial legislature Determination of seats in the Senate as a consequence of the 26 29 April 1994 provincial elections Party EC FS G KZN M NW NC NP WC TotalAfrican National Congress 9 8 6 3 8 8 5 10 3 60National Party 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 6 17Inkatha Freedom Party 5 5Freedom Front 1 1 1 1 1 5Democratic Party 1 1 1 3Total 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 90Source Constitution of South Africa 3 In 1997 on the adoption of the final Constitution the Senate became the National Council of Provinces its political makeup remained the same but members were divided into permanent and special delegates as described in the following table Initial determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces at the adoption of the new Constitution on 4 February 1997 Party Delegate type EC FS G KZN M NW NC NP WC TotalAfrican National Congress Permanent 5 4 3 1 4 4 3 6 2 32 60Special 4 4 3 2 4 4 2 4 1 28National Party Permanent 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 11 17Special 1 2 3 6Inkatha Freedom Party Permanent 3 3 5Special 2 2Freedom Front Permanent 1 1 1 1 1 5Democratic Party Permanent 1 1 1 3Total 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 90Source Constitution of South Africa 3 Provincial legislature results EditMembers of the provincial legislatures were elected from party lists in proportion to each party s share of the provincial ballot Party EC FS G KZN M NW NC NP WCANC 48 24 50 26 25 26 15 38 14National 6 4 21 9 3 3 12 1 23IFP 0 0 3 41 0 0 0 0 0Freedom Front 0 2 5 0 2 1 2 1 1DP 1 0 5 2 0 0 1 0 3PAC 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0ACDP 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1Minority Front 1 Total 56 30 86 81 30 30 30 40 42Eastern Cape Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress2 453 79084 3548National Party286 0299 836Democratic Party59 6442 051Pan Africanist Congress59 4752 041Freedom Front23 1670 800African Christian Democratic Party14 9080 510Inkatha Freedom Party5 0500 170African Democratic Movement4 8150 170Merit Party2 0280 070Total2 908 906100 0056Valid votes2 908 90699 55Invalid blank votes13 2480 45Total votes2 922 154100 00Source Election ResourcesFree State Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress1 037 99876 6524National Party170 45212 594Freedom Front81 6626 032Pan Africanist Congress24 4511 810Dikwankwetla Party17 0241 260Democratic Party7 6640 570Inkatha Freedom Party6 9350 510African Christian Democratic Party6 0720 450African Democratic Movement2 0080 150Total1 354 266100 0030Valid votes1 354 26699 25Invalid blank votes10 2860 75Total votes1 364 552100 00Source Election ResourcesGauteng Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress2 418 25757 6050National Party1 002 54023 8821Freedom Front258 9356 175Democratic Party223 5485 325Inkatha Freedom Party153 5673 663Pan Africanist Congress61 5121 471African Christian Democratic Party25 5420 611Federal Party16 2790 390Africa Muslim Party12 8880 310Women s Rights Peace Party7 2790 170Luso South African Party5 4230 130Dikwankwetla Party4 8530 120African Democratic Movement4 3520 100Ximoko Progressive Party3 2750 080Total4 198 250100 0086Valid votes4 198 25099 40Invalid blank votes25 3830 60Total votes4 223 633100 00Source Election ResourcesKwaZulu Natal Edit PartyVotes SeatsInkatha Freedom Party1 844 07050 3241African National Congress1 181 11832 2326National Party410 71011 219Democratic Party78 9102 152Minority Front48 9511 341Pan Africanist Congress26 6010 731African Christian Democratic Party24 6900 671Freedom Front18 6250 510Africa Muslim Party17 9310 490African Democratic Movement8 0920 220Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International4 6260 130Total3 664 324100 0081Valid votes3 664 32498 94Invalid blank votes39 3691 06Total votes3 703 693100 00Source Election ResourcesMpumalanga Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress1 070 05280 6925National Party119 3119 003Freedom Front75 1205 662Pan Africanist Congress21 6791 630Inkatha Freedom Party20 1471 520Democratic Party7 4370 560African Christian Democratic Party6 3390 480African Democratic Movement5 0620 380Right Party9210 070Total1 326 068100 0030Valid votes1 326 06899 06Invalid blank votes12 6310 94Total votes1 338 699100 00Source Election ResourcesNorth West Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress1 310 08083 3326National Party138 9868 843Freedom Front72 8214 631Pan Africanist Congress27 2741 730Democratic Party7 8940 500Inkatha Freedom Party5 9480 380African Christian Democratic Party5 5700 350African Democratic Movement3 5690 230Total1 572 142100 0030Valid votes1 572 14298 81Invalid blank votes18 9741 19Total votes1 591 116100 00Source Election ResourcesNorthern Cape Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress200 83949 7415National Party163 45240 4812Freedom Front24 1175 972Democratic Party7 5671 871Pan Africanist Congress3 7650 930Inkatha Freedom Party1 6880 420African Christian Democratic Party1 6100 400African Democratic Movement7340 180Total403 772100 0030Valid votes403 77299 13Invalid blank votes3 5340 87Total votes407 306100 00Source Election ResourcesNorthern Province Edit PartyVotes SeatsAfrican National Congress1 759 59791 6338National Party62 7453 271Freedom Front41 1932 151Pan Africanist Congress24 3601 270United People s Front10 1230 530African Christian Democratic Party7 3630 380Ximoko Progressive Party4 9630 260Democratic Party4 0210 210African Democratic Movement3 6620 190Inkatha Freedom Party2 2330 120Total1 920 260100 0040Valid votes1 920 26099 29Invalid blank votes13 7020 71Total votes1 933 962100 00Source Election ResourcesWestern Cape Edit PartyVotes SeatsNational Party1 138 24253 2523African National Congress705 57633 0114Democratic Party141 9706 643Freedom Front44 0032 061African Christian Democratic Party25 7311 201Pan Africanist Congress22 6761 060Africa Muslim Party20 9540 980Islamic Party16 7620 780Inkatha Freedom Party7 4450 350Wes Kaap Federaliste Party6 3370 300South African Women s Party2 6410 120Green Party2 6110 120African Democratic Movement1 9390 090Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International8550 040Total2 137 742100 0042Valid votes2 137 74299 50Invalid blank votes10 7140 50Total votes2 148 456100 00Source Election ResourcesLegacy EditFollowing the elections 27 April subsequently became a national public holiday Freedom Day 4 In a Sunday Independent article on the 20th anniversary of the election Steven Friedman who headed the IEC s information analysis department during the election stated that the lack of a voters roll made verifying the results of the election difficult and there were widespread accusations of cheating 2 Friedman characterised the election as a technical disaster but a political triumph and intimated that the final results were as a result of a negotiated compromise rather than being an accurate count of the votes cast stating that it was impossible to produce an accurate result under the circumstances that the election was held He wrote that he believed that the result of the election which gave KwaZulu Natal to the IFP gave the National Party 20 of the vote share and a Deputy President position and held the ANC back from the two thirds majority with the ability to unilaterally write the final constitution helped prevent a civil war 2 References Edit South Africa Parliamentary Chamber National Assembly Elections held in 1994 Inter Parliamentary Union a b c d The bargain that saved us in 1994 The Sunday Independent a b Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 Schedule 6 Transitional Arrangements item 7 S Africa marks democracy anniversary aljazeera com External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1994 South African general election US Department of the Army South Africa Country Study The 1994 Elections IEC results for 1994 election Proportional representation and alternative systems Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1994 South African general election amp oldid 1127248609, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
