South African referendum, 1992
Encyclopedia
The 1992 referendum was held in South Africa
on 17 March of that year. In it, white South Africans were asked to vote in the country's last whites-only referendum to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by State President
F.W. de Klerk two years earlier, in which he proposed to end the apartheid that had been started in 1948. The result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side, which ultimately resulted in apartheid being lifted.
F.W. de Klerk announced that the ban on different political parties such as the African National Congress
and the South African Communist Party
would be lifted and that Nelson Mandela
would be released after 27 years in prison. F.W. de Klerk announced that capital punishment
would be suspended and that the state of emergency
would be lifted. The State President said in his speech to parliament that "the time to negotiate has arrived".
Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990 from Victor Verster Prison
in Paarl
near Cape Town
. On March 21, 1990, South West Africa
became independent under the name of Namibia
. In May the government began talks with the ANC. In June the state of emergency was lifted and the ANC had agreed to a ceasefire. In 1991, the Acts which restricted land ownership, specified separate living areas and classified people by race were abolished.
Prior to the referendum, the governing National Party
had lost three by-elections since announcing negotiations to end apartheid two years earlier, and its position was opposed by the Conservative Party
which opposed the negotiations and boycotted the Convention for a Democratic South Africa
(CODESA). On 24 January 1992, President F.W. de Klerk opened parliament and suggested that a referendum would be held, in which the vote of each race group would be counted separately. When the National Party was defeated in the Potchefstroom by-election on 19 February, after calling it a test vote, its credibility was placed in doubt.
In the meantime, negotiations between the government and the African National Congress
were making slow progress. Violence was increasing in the South African township
s, different right wing groups were becoming more prominent, and there was growing dissatisfaction within the white community. Conditions and the mood in the black townships was worsening as well. The government was thus under domestic and international pressure to make progress in the negotiations.
While the Conservative Party claimed that the government did not have the mandate to negotiate with the ANC after its defeat in Potchefstroom, State President
F.W. de Klerk announced 20 February, that a national referendum
for the white electorate would be held to test the government's — and his own — support: if the referendum's outcome had been negative, de Klerk would have resigned and general elections held.
campaigned for a "Yes" vote, while the conservative right wing led by the Conservative Party campaigned for a "No" vote. Much of de Klerk's efforts in 1992 were directed toward appeasing and weakening his right-wing opponents, the conservative defenders of apartheid who had broken away from the National Party during the 1980s. De Klerk attempted to show white South Africans that the government was not giving up power to the ANC, but negotiating on the basis of "power sharing". It warned the white voters that a "No" vote would mean continuation of international sanctions, the danger of civil war and worsening chaos in South Africa.
The National Party "Yes" vote campaign was of a kind that had never before been seen in South Africa. The National Party held large political gatherings through the country and published advertisements in many national newspapers and bought commercial time in television. It produced massive election "Yes" posters with the message "Yes! Ja! SA" and a poster showing a picture of an AWB
member with a gun and with the text "You can stop this man! Vote YES".
The Democratic Party had more traditional posters with the message "Ja vir vrede (Yes for peace)".
The "No" campaign, led by Dr Andries Treurnicht
, played on racial prejudices and warned of "black majority rule" and "ANC communist rule". The Conservative Party also advocated white self-determination and argued that white South Africans had the right to rule themselves. During the campaign, the "No" side also started to advocate an independent homeland, or volkstaat
, for the white minority.
When de Klerk initially announced the referendum, many were critical of the fact that only whites
had the right to vote in the referendum.
The results, on a turnout of 85.1%, were:
Total number of votes: 2,804,947 out of 3,296,800
In Cape Town
and Durban
over 85% voted "yes" and in Pretoria
over 57% voted "yes". Only Pietersburg in the Northern Transvaal, a rural right wing stronghold, voted "no" with 57%. Even in the conservative stronghold, where five out of the seven parliamentary seats were held by "No" campaigners, Kroonstad
, the "yes" side won with 52%. Next day, President de Klerk said "Today we have closed the book on apartheid" as he celebrated his 56th birthday. Nelson Mandela
said that he was "very happy indeed".
news bill was dominated by the large text "YES, IT'S YES!".
The alliance between the Conservative Party and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
may have harmed the CP and in some cases even scared away voters to the "Yes" side. Some conservative and militant defenders of apartheid boycotted the referendum, although turnout was at record levels, reaching above 96% in some areas http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_2524000/2524695.stm.
De Klerk and his government could now claim that the whites were in favour of universal suffrage and that they had a clear mandate to negotiate with the African National Congress
. The ANC had disliked the referendum, mainly because whites were the only one allowed to vote. But the ANC realised that a "No" vote would not only risk the negotiations but also increase the political chaos in the country, and had no real reason to advocate that the whites oppose the negotiations. The ANC therefore advocated a "Yes" vote.
The right wing criticized the referendum and accused the government of electoral fraud
. They had lost where they had been the strongest, in the Afrikaner
heartland and in the big cities. Dr. Treurnicht claimed that media propaganda, foreign intervention, threats by businesspeople against employees and electoral fraud had resulted in a "Yes" vote. No evidence has yet been put forward regarding electoral irregularities. However a cursory examination of the SABC TV output at the time revealed a heavy bias in favour of a YES vote. Almost all newspapers were hostile to a NO vote.
On the 27 April 1994, South Africa held its first multi-racial elections
, that resulted in a huge victory for the African National Congress and made Nelson Mandela the first black President of South Africa
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on 17 March of that year. In it, white South Africans were asked to vote in the country's last whites-only referendum to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by State President
State President of South Africa
State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
F.W. de Klerk two years earlier, in which he proposed to end the apartheid that had been started in 1948. The result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side, which ultimately resulted in apartheid being lifted.
Background
On February 2, 1990, in his opening address to parliament, State PresidentState President of South Africa
State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
F.W. de Klerk announced that the ban on different political parties such as the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and the South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
would be lifted and that Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
would be released after 27 years in prison. F.W. de Klerk announced that capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
would be suspended and that the state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
would be lifted. The State President said in his speech to parliament that "the time to negotiate has arrived".
Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990 from Victor Verster Prison
Victor Verster Prison
Drakenstein Correctional Centre is a low-security prison between Paarl and Franschhoek, on the R301 road 5km from the R45 Huguenot Road, in the valley of the Dwars River in the Western Cape of South Africa...
in Paarl
Paarl
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its the third oldest European settlement in the Republic of South Africa and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto urban unit with Wellington...
near Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. On March 21, 1990, South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
became independent under the name of Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. In May the government began talks with the ANC. In June the state of emergency was lifted and the ANC had agreed to a ceasefire. In 1991, the Acts which restricted land ownership, specified separate living areas and classified people by race were abolished.
Before the Referendum
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
had lost three by-elections since announcing negotiations to end apartheid two years earlier, and its position was opposed by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (South Africa)
The Conservative Party of South Africa was a conservative party formed in 1982 as a breakaway from the ruling National Party...
which opposed the negotiations and boycotted the Convention for a Democratic South Africa
Convention for a Democratic South Africa
The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of negotiations between 1990 and 1993 and through unilateral steps by the de Klerk government. These negotiations took place between the governing National Party, the African National Congress, and a wide variety of other political...
(CODESA). On 24 January 1992, President F.W. de Klerk opened parliament and suggested that a referendum would be held, in which the vote of each race group would be counted separately. When the National Party was defeated in the Potchefstroom by-election on 19 February, after calling it a test vote, its credibility was placed in doubt.
In the meantime, negotiations between the government and the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
were making slow progress. Violence was increasing in the South African township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
s, different right wing groups were becoming more prominent, and there was growing dissatisfaction within the white community. Conditions and the mood in the black townships was worsening as well. The government was thus under domestic and international pressure to make progress in the negotiations.
While the Conservative Party claimed that the government did not have the mandate to negotiate with the ANC after its defeat in Potchefstroom, State President
State President of South Africa
State President, or Staatspresident in Afrikaans, was the title of South Africa's head of state from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1961, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state...
F.W. de Klerk announced 20 February, that a national referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
for the white electorate would be held to test the government's — and his own — support: if the referendum's outcome had been negative, de Klerk would have resigned and general elections held.
The campaign
The National Party and Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (South Africa)
The Democratic Party was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance . Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the Apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National...
campaigned for a "Yes" vote, while the conservative right wing led by the Conservative Party campaigned for a "No" vote. Much of de Klerk's efforts in 1992 were directed toward appeasing and weakening his right-wing opponents, the conservative defenders of apartheid who had broken away from the National Party during the 1980s. De Klerk attempted to show white South Africans that the government was not giving up power to the ANC, but negotiating on the basis of "power sharing". It warned the white voters that a "No" vote would mean continuation of international sanctions, the danger of civil war and worsening chaos in South Africa.
The National Party "Yes" vote campaign was of a kind that had never before been seen in South Africa. The National Party held large political gatherings through the country and published advertisements in many national newspapers and bought commercial time in television. It produced massive election "Yes" posters with the message "Yes! Ja! SA" and a poster showing a picture of an AWB
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
member with a gun and with the text "You can stop this man! Vote YES".
The Democratic Party had more traditional posters with the message "Ja vir vrede (Yes for peace)".
The "No" campaign, led by Dr Andries Treurnicht
Andries Treurnicht
Andries Petrus Treurnicht was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the Soweto Riots and for a short time leader of the National Party in Transvaal...
, played on racial prejudices and warned of "black majority rule" and "ANC communist rule". The Conservative Party also advocated white self-determination and argued that white South Africans had the right to rule themselves. During the campaign, the "No" side also started to advocate an independent homeland, or volkstaat
Volkstaat
Volkstaat is a proposal for the establishment of self determination for the Boer and Afrikaners minority in South Africa according to federal principles, alluding to full independence in the form of a homeland for Boer and Afrikaners....
, for the white minority.
When de Klerk initially announced the referendum, many were critical of the fact that only whites
Whites in South Africa
White South African is a term which refers to people from South Africa who are of European descent and who don't regard themselves, or are not regarded as being part of another racial group, for example, as Coloured...
had the right to vote in the referendum.
Result
The question asked was "Do you support continuation of the reform process which the State President began on February 2, 1990, and which is aimed at a new constitution through negotiation?"The results, on a turnout of 85.1%, were:
| Result | Number of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,924,186 | 68.73% |
| No | 875,619 | 31.27% |
Total number of votes: 2,804,947 out of 3,296,800
In Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
over 85% voted "yes" and in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
over 57% voted "yes". Only Pietersburg in the Northern Transvaal, a rural right wing stronghold, voted "no" with 57%. Even in the conservative stronghold, where five out of the seven parliamentary seats were held by "No" campaigners, Kroonstad
Kroonstad
Kroonstad is the third-largest town in the Free State province of South Africa, and lies two hours drive from Gauteng. In the 1991 census it had a population of 110,963...
, the "yes" side won with 52%. Next day, President de Klerk said "Today we have closed the book on apartheid" as he celebrated his 56th birthday. Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
said that he was "very happy indeed".
Aftermath
The day after the referendum, the Cape TimesCape Times
The Cape Times is an English language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Cape Town, South Africa. The first edition of the newspaper was published on 27 March 1876 by then editor Frederick York St Leger...
news bill was dominated by the large text "YES, IT'S YES!".
The alliance between the Conservative Party and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
may have harmed the CP and in some cases even scared away voters to the "Yes" side. Some conservative and militant defenders of apartheid boycotted the referendum, although turnout was at record levels, reaching above 96% in some areas http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/18/newsid_2524000/2524695.stm.
De Klerk and his government could now claim that the whites were in favour of universal suffrage and that they had a clear mandate to negotiate with the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
. The ANC had disliked the referendum, mainly because whites were the only one allowed to vote. But the ANC realised that a "No" vote would not only risk the negotiations but also increase the political chaos in the country, and had no real reason to advocate that the whites oppose the negotiations. The ANC therefore advocated a "Yes" vote.
The right wing criticized the referendum and accused the government of electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. They had lost where they had been the strongest, in the Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
heartland and in the big cities. Dr. Treurnicht claimed that media propaganda, foreign intervention, threats by businesspeople against employees and electoral fraud had resulted in a "Yes" vote. No evidence has yet been put forward regarding electoral irregularities. However a cursory examination of the SABC TV output at the time revealed a heavy bias in favour of a YES vote. Almost all newspapers were hostile to a NO vote.
On the 27 April 1994, South Africa held its first multi-racial elections
South African general election, 1994
The South African general election of 1994 was an election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission .Millions queued in lines over a three...
, that resulted in a huge victory for the African National Congress and made Nelson Mandela the first black President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
.
See also
- Elections in South AfricaElections in South AfricaElections in South Africa take place on national, provincial, and local levels. South Africa is a multi-party democracy with the African National Congress in power with a significant majority since 1994...
- Convention for a Democratic South AfricaConvention for a Democratic South AfricaThe apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of negotiations between 1990 and 1993 and through unilateral steps by the de Klerk government. These negotiations took place between the governing National Party, the African National Congress, and a wide variety of other political...
Sources
- Countrystudies: South Africa-Towards Democracy
- BBC ON THIS DAY: South Africa votes for change
- South African election results
- South African History 1990-1999
- Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to FreedomLong Walk to Freedom (book)Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiographical work written by Nelson Mandela, and published in 1995 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. Mandela was once regarded as a terrorist but he is now regarded as uncontroversial...
: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela; Little Brown & Co; ISBN 0-316-54818-9 (paperback, 1995)