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Are you in favour of a Republic for the Union? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by province Yes: 50–55% 55–60% 60–65% 75–80% Contents
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A referendum on becoming a republic was held in South Africa on 5 October 1960. The Afrikaner-dominated right-wing National Party, which had come to power in 1948, was avowedly republican and regarded the position of Queen Elizabeth II as the South African monarch as a relic of British imperialism. [1] The National Party government subsequently organised the referendum on whether the then Union of South Africa should become a republic. The vote, which was restricted to whites—the first such national election in the union—was narrowly approved by 52.29% of the voters. [2] [3] The Republic of South Africa was constituted on 31 May 1961.
Despite the defeat of the two Boer Republics, the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, republican sentiment remained strong in the Union of South Africa among Afrikaners. [4] D. F. Malan broke with the National Party of Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog when it merged with the South African Party of Jan Smuts to form a Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party (or "Purified National Party") which advocated a South African republic under Afrikaner control. This had the support of the secretive Afrikaner Broederbond organisation, whose chairman, L J du Plessis declared:
National culture and national welfare cannot unfold fully if the people of South Africa do not also constitutionally sever all foreign ties. After the cultural and economic needs, the Afrikaner will have to devote his attention to the constitutional needs of our people. Added to that objective must be an entirely independent genuine, Afrikaans form of government for South Africa... a form of government which through its embodiment in our own personal head of state, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, will inspire us to irresistible unity and strength. [5]
In 1940, Malan, along with Hertzog, founded the Herenigde Nasionale Party (or "Reunited National Party") which pledged to fight for "a free independent republic, separated from the British Crown and Empire", and "to remove, step by step, all anomalies which hamper the fullest expression of our national freedom". [6]
That year, a Commission appointed by the Broederbond, met to draft a constitution for a republic; this included future National Party ministers, such as Hendrik Verwoerd, Albert Hertzog and Eben Dönges. [7]
In 1942, details of a draft republican constitution were published in Afrikaans-language newspapers Die Burger and Die Transvaler , which provided for a State President, elected by white citizens known as Burgers only, who would be "only responsible to God... for his deeds in the fulfilment of his duties", aided by a Community Council with exclusively advisory powers, while Afrikaans would be the first official language, with English as a supplemental language. [8]
On the matter of continued Commonwealth membership, the Broederbond's view was that "departure from the Commonwealth as soon as possible remains a cardinal aspect of our republican aim". [9]
During the visit to South Africa by King George VI and his family in 1947, the Afrikaans-language newspaper Die Transvaler, of which Verwoerd was editor, ignored the royal tour, making reference only to "busy streets" in Johannesburg. [10] By contrast, the newspaper of the far-right Ossewa Brandwag openly denounced the tour, proclaiming that "in the name of this monarchy, 27 000 Boer women and children were murdered for the sake of gold and their fatherland". [11]
In 1948, the National Party, now led by D. F. Malan, came to power, although it did not campaign for a republic during the election, instead favouring remaining in the Commonwealth, thereby appealing to Afrikaners who otherwise might have voted for the United Party of Jan Smuts. [12] This decision to downplay the republic question and focus on race issues was influenced by N C Havenga, the leader of the Afrikaner Party, which was in alliance with the National Party in the election. [13]
Malan's successor as Prime Minister, J G Strijdom, also downplayed the republic issue, stating that no steps would be taken towards that end before 1958. [14] However, he later reaffirmed his party's commitment to a republic, as well as a single national flag. [15] Strijdom stated that the matter of whether South Africa would be a republic inside or outside the Commonwealth would be decided "with a view to circumstances then prevailing". [16] Like his precessor, Strijdom declared the party's belief that a republic could only be proclaimed on the basis "of the broad will of the people". [17]
On becoming Prime Minister in 1958, Verwoerd gave a speech to Parliament in which he declared that:
This has indeed been the basis of our struggle all these years: nationalism against imperialism. This has been the struggle since 1910: a republic as opposed to the monarchical connection... We stand unequivocally and clearly for the establishment of the republic in the correct manner and at the appropriate time. [18]
In 1960, Verwoerd announced plans to hold a whites-only referendum on the establishment of a republic, with a bill to that effect being introduced in Parliament on 23 April of that year. [19] The Referendum Act received assent on 3 June 1960. [20] He stated that a simple majority in favour of the change would be decisive, although minimal changes would be made to the existing constitutional structures. [21]
Before he was succeeded by Verwoerd as Prime Minister in 1958, Strijdom had lowered the voting age for whites from 21 to 18. [22] Afrikaners, who were more likely to favour the National Party than English-speaking whites, were also on average younger than them, with a higher birth rate. [13] Also included on the electoral roll were white voters in South West Africa, now Namibia. [23] As in South Africa, the Afrikaners and ethnic Germans in the territory outnumbered English-speaking whites, and were strong supporters of the National Party. [24] In addition, Coloureds were no longer enfranchised as voters and were not eligible to vote in the referendum. [25]
In hopes of winning the support of those opposed to a republic, not only English-speaking whites but Afrikaners still supporting the United Party, Verwoerd proposed that constitutional changes would be minimal, with the Queen simply being replaced as head of state by a State President, the office of which would be a ceremonial post rather than an executive one. [26]
Earlier, in February of that year, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan had given a speech to the Parliament in Cape Town, in which he spoke of the inevitability of decolonisation in Africa, and appeared critical of South Africa's apartheid policies. [27] This prompted Verwoerd to declare in the House of Assembly:
It was not the Republic of South Africa that was told, 'We are not going to support you in this respect.' Those words were addressed to the monarchy of South Africa, and yet we have the same monarch as this person from Britain who addressed these words to us. It was a warning given to all of us, English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking, republican and anti-republican. It was clear to all of us that as far as these matters are concerned, we shall have to stand on our own feet. [28]
Many English-speaking whites, who had regarded Britain as their spiritual home, felt disillusionment and a sense of loss, including Douglas Edgar Mitchell, the United Party's leader in Natal. [29] Despite his opposition to Verwoerd's plans for a republic, Mitchell spoke in vehement opposition to many points of Macmillan's speech. [30]
In Natal, the only province with an English-speaking majority of whites, there was strong anti-republican sentiment; in 1955, the small Federal Party issued a pamphlet The Case Against the Republic, while the Anti-Republican League organised public demonstrations. [32] The League, founded by Arthur Selby, the Federal Party's chairman, launched the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic, signed by 33,000 Natalians. [31] Drawing cheering crowds of 2,000 people in Durban and 1,500 in Pietermaritzburg, the League became the largest political organisation in Natal, with 28 branches across the province, with Selby calling for 80,000 signatories to the Covenant. [33] Inspired by the Ulster Covenant of 1912, the Natal Covenant read:
Being convinced in our consciences that a republic would be disastrous to the material well-being of Natal as well as of the whole of South Africa, subversive of our freedom and destructive of our citizenship, we, whose names are underwritten, men and women of Natal, loyal subjects of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, do hereby pledge ourselves in solemn covenant, throughout this our time of threatened calamity, to stand by one another in defending the Crown, and in using all means which may be found possible and necessary to defeat the present intention to set up a republic in South Africa. And in the event of a republic being forced upon us, we further solemnly and mutually pledge ourselves to refuse to recognise its authority. In sure confidence that God will defend the right, we hereto subscribe our names. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. [31]
On the day of the referendum, the Natal Witness , the province's daily English-language newspaper warned its readers that:
Not to vote against the Republic is to help those who would cut us loose from our moorings, and set us adrift in a treacherous and uncharted sea, at the very time that the winds of change are blowing up to hurricane force. [34]
Between May 1956 and June 1958, the anti-republican Freedom Radio, set up by John Lang, broadcast from the Natal Midlands, later resuming broadcasts shortly before the referendum in October 1960 until the proclamation of the republic in May 1961. [35]
Black South Africans, who were denied a vote in the referendum, were not against the establishment of a republic per se, but saw the new constitution as a direct rejection of the principle of one person, one vote, as expressed in the Freedom Charter, drafted by the African National Congress and its allies in the Congress Alliance. [36] Despite its opposition to the monarchy and the Commonwealth, the ANC sought to mobilise white and black opposition to the republic, seeing it as an attempt by Verwoerd to consolidate the white grip on power. [37]
The pro-republic campaign focused on the need for white unity in the face of British decolonisation in Africa, and the eruption of the former Belgian Congo into bloody civil war following independence, which Verwoerd warned might give rise to similar chaos in South Africa. [40] It also argued that South Africa's links with the British monarchy led to confusion about the country's status, with one advertisement proclaiming: "Let us become a real republic now rather than remain betwixt and between". [41]
One campaign poster used the slogan "To re-unite and keep South Africa white, a republic now" on posters in English, while in Afrikaans, the slogan was Ons republiek nou, om Suid-Afrika blank te hou ("Our republic now, to keep South Africa white"). [42] Another poster featured two clasped hands, with the slogan "Your people, my people, our republic", which would sometimes be vandalised by painting one of the hands black, producing the emblem of the non-racial Liberal Party. [43]
The opposition United Party actively campaigned for a 'No' vote, arguing that South Africa's membership of the Commonwealth, with which it had privileged trade links, would be threatened and lead to greater isolation. [44] One advertisement pointed out that access to Commonwealth markets was worth £200 000 000 a year. [45] Another proclaimed "You need friends. Don't let Verwoerd lose them all". [46] Sir De Villiers Graaff, the party's leader, called on voters to reject a republic "so we can remain in the British [sic] Commonwealth and have its protection against Communism and hot-eyed African nationalism". [47]
The smaller Progressive Party appealed to supporters of the proposed change to 'reject this republic', arguing that such a weighted electorate could not provide a valid test of opinion. [23] An advertisement appealing to voters who might support a republic declared: "The issue is not monarchy or republic but democracy or dictatorship". [48]
Choice | Votes | % | |
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For | 850,458 | 52.29 | |
Against | 775,878 | 47.71 | |
Total | 1,626,336 | 100.00 | |
Valid votes | 1,626,336 | 99.52 | |
Invalid/blank votes | 7,904 | 0.48 | |
Total votes | 1,634,240 | 100.00 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 1,800,426 | 90.77 | |
Source: Government Gazette |
Province | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total | Registered voters | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
Cape of Good Hope | 271,418 | 50.15 | 269,784 | 49.85 | 2,881 | 544,083 | 591,298 | 92.02 |
Natal | 42,299 | 23.78 | 135,598 | 76.22 | 688 | 178,585 | 193,103 | 92.48 |
Orange Free State | 110,171 | 76.72 | 33,438 | 23.28 | 798 | 144,407 | 160,843 | 89.78 |
South-West Africa | 19,938 | 62.39 | 12,017 | 37.61 | 280 | 32,235 | 37,135 | 86.80 |
Transvaal | 406,632 | 55.58 | 325,041 | 44.42 | 3,257 | 734,930 | 818,047 | 89.84 |
Source: Government Gazette Extraordinary (6557) |
Of the 156 House of Assembly parliamentary constituencies, a majority voted for a republic in 104 (all 103 won by the National Party in the 1958 general election, plus the United Party-held seat of Sunnyside in Pretoria), while a majority voted against in the other 52 (all held by the United Party or the Progressive Party). [49]
Province | Constituency | For | Against | Invalid/ blank | Total | Registered voters [a] | Turnout | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||||
Cape of Good Hope | Albany | 2,448 | 23.02 | 8,184 | 76.98 | 47 | 10,679 | 11,606 | 92.01 |
Aliwal | 5,243 | 58.14 | 3,775 | 41.86 | 53 | 9,071 | 9,583 | 94.66 | |
Beaufort West | 6,223 | 77.81 | 1,775 | 22.19 | 45 | 8,043 | 8,919 | 90.18 | |
Bellville | 8,387 | 62.73 | 4,984 | 37.27 | 57 | 13,428 | 14,548 | 92.30 | |
Ceres | 6,596 | 77.00 | 1,970 | 23.00 | 53 | 8,619 | 9,416 | 91.54 | |
Constantia | 1,638 | 13.60 | 10,405 | 86.40 | 30 | 12,073 | 13,277 | 90.93 | |
Cradock | 5,615 | 66.76 | 2,796 | 33.24 | 41 | 8,452 | 9,140 | 92.47 | |
De Aar—Colesberg | 5,846 | 70.60 | 2,434 | 29.40 | 52 | 8,332 | 9,052 | 92.05 | |
Fort Beaufort | 4,910 | 55.46 | 3,943 | 44.54 | 52 | 8,905 | 9,327 | 95.48 | |
George | 7,842 | 76.83 | 2,365 | 23.17 | 51 | 10,258 | 10,969 | 93.52 | |
Gordonia | 5,925 | 70.72 | 2,453 | 29.28 | 71 | 8,449 | 9,289 | 90.96 | |
Graaff-Reinet | 5,576 | 68.55 | 2,558 | 31.45 | 66 | 8,200 | 8,876 | 92.38 | |
Green Point | 1,784 | 16.52 | 9,018 | 83.48 | 39 | 10,841 | 12,350 | 87.78 | |
Hottentots-Holland | 5,688 | 56.19 | 4,434 | 43.81 | 57 | 10,179 | 10,876 | 93.59 | |
Humansdorp | 6,269 | 65.04 | 3,369 | 34.96 | 52 | 9,690 | 10,298 | 94.10 | |
Cape Town Gardens | 3,706 | 31.08 | 8,217 | 68.92 | 47 | 11,970 | 13,467 | 88.88 | |
Kimberley North | 6,438 | 59.89 | 4,312 | 40.11 | 12 | 10,762 | 11,885 | 90.55 | |
Kimberley South | 6,067 | 54.33 | 5,099 | 45.67 | 87 | 11,253 | 12,292 | 91.55 | |
King William’s Town | 3,104 | 29.20 | 7,525 | 70.80 | 27 | 10,656 | 11,294 | 94.35 | |
Kuruman | 6,225 | 69.11 | 2,782 | 30.89 | 50 | 9,057 | 9,747 | 92.92 | |
Maitland | 3,866 | 35.48 | 7,029 | 64.52 | 44 | 10,939 | 12,099 | 90.41 | |
Malmesbury | 7,463 | 74.44 | 2,562 | 25.56 | 92 | 10,117 | 10,790 | 93.76 | |
Moorreesburg | 6,636 | 74.54 | 2,267 | 25.46 | 67 | 8,970 | 9,738 | 92.11 | |
Mossel Bay | 6,939 | 75.02 | 2,311 | 24.98 | 71 | 9,321 | 9,984 | 93.36 | |
Namakwaland | 6,686 | 76.51 | 2,053 | 23.49 | 140 | 8,879 | 9,912 | 89.58 | |
East London North | 2,294 | 18.95 | 9,812 | 81.05 | 116 | 12,222 | 12,993 | 94.07 | |
East London City | 2,662 | 23.85 | 8,499 | 76.15 | 53 | 11,214 | 12,391 | 90.50 | |
Oudtshoorn | 7,342 | 78.05 | 2,065 | 21.95 | 73 | 9,480 | 10,438 | 90.82 | |
Paarl | 7,314 | 69.08 | 3,273 | 30.92 | 81 | 10,668 | 11,498 | 92.78 | |
Parow | 9,300 | 75.73 | 2,980 | 24.27 | 68 | 12,348 | 13,582 | 90.91 | |
Pinelands | 2,143 | 18.26 | 9,593 | 81.74 | 16 | 11,752 | 12,687 | 92.63 | |
Piketberg | 7,385 | 86.04 | 1,198 | 13.96 | 48 | 8,631 | 9,286 | 92.95 | |
Port Elizabeth North | 7,143 | 57.67 | 5,244 | 42.33 | 61 | 12,448 | 13,586 | 91.62 | |
Port Elizabeth Central | 4,149 | 36.30 | 7,280 | 63.70 | 43 | 11,472 | 12,576 | 91.22 | |
Port Elizabeth South | 2,645 | 21.63 | 9,583 | 78.37 | 33 | 12,261 | 13,217 | 92.77 | |
Port Elizabeth West | 3,926 | 28.17 | 10,009 | 71.83 | 55 | 13,990 | 14,734 | 94.95 | |
Prieska | 5,209 | 61.12 | 3,313 | 38.88 | 45 | 8,567 | 9,154 | 93.59 | |
Queenstown | 5,257 | 49.43 | 5,378 | 50.57 | 14 | 10,649 | 11,112 | 95.83 | |
Rondebosch | 1,622 | 13.43 | 10,456 | 86.57 | 36 | 12,114 | 13,301 | 91.08 | |
Sea Point | 1,077 | 9.01 | 10,877 | 90.99 | 38 | 11,992 | 12,798 | 93.70 | |
Simonstown | 2,591 | 21.92 | 9,229 | 78.08 | 57 | 11,877 | 13,017 | 91.24 | |
Somerset East | 6,025 | 68.87 | 2,723 | 31.13 | 101 | 8,849 | 9,375 | 94.39 | |
Salt River | 1,936 | 20.85 | 7,349 | 79.15 | 64 | 9,349 | 10,610 | 88.11 | |
Stellenbosch | 8,086 | 67.82 | 3,836 | 32.18 | 27 | 11,949 | 13,194 | 90.56 | |
Swellendam | 5,602 | 59.77 | 3,771 | 40.23 | 70 | 9,443 | 10,103 | 93.47 | |
Transkeian Territories | 2,316 | 25.93 | 6,616 | 74.07 | 103 | 9,035 | 9,698 | 93.16 | |
Uitenhage | 8,938 | 65.98 | 4,609 | 34.02 | 77 | 13,624 | 14,624 | 93.16 | |
False Bay | 6,517 | 58.42 | 4,638 | 41.58 | 42 | 11,197 | 12,408 | 90.24 | |
Vasco | 7,138 | 63.41 | 4,119 | 36.59 | 56 | 11,313 | 12,660 | 89.36 | |
Vryburg | 6,408 | 68.57 | 2,937 | 31.43 | 59 | 9,404 | 10,303 | 91.27 | |
Worcester | 6,793 | 66.63 | 3,402 | 33.37 | 20 | 10,215 | 11,287 | 90.50 | |
Wynberg | 2,480 | 22.85 | 8,375 | 77.15 | 22 | 10,877 | 11,932 | 91.16 | |
Natal | Drakensberg | 3,801 | 41.54 | 5,349 | 58.46 | 50 | 9,200 | 9,956 | 92.41 |
Durban—Berea | 1,010 | 8.34 | 11,098 | 91.66 | 22 | 12,130 | 12,916 | 93.91 | |
Durban—Musgrave | 823 | 6.93 | 11,053 | 93.07 | 42 | 11,918 | 12,769 | 93.34 | |
Durban North | 1,282 | 10.09 | 11,426 | 89.91 | 27 | 12,735 | 13,507 | 94.28 | |
Durban Point | 1,554 | 12.33 | 11,049 | 87.67 | 28 | 12,631 | 14,156 | 89.23 | |
Durban Central | 1,445 | 13.16 | 9,538 | 86.84 | 21 | 11,004 | 12,120 | 90.79 | |
Durban-Umbilo | 1,766 | 15.62 | 9,537 | 84.38 | 45 | 11,348 | 12,386 | 91.62 | |
Durban Umlazi | 2,706 | 23.15 | 8,983 | 76.85 | 32 | 11,721 | 12,675 | 92.47 | |
Natal South Coast | 1,669 | 17.70 | 7,761 | 82.30 | 14 | 9,444 | 10,206 | 92.53 | |
Newcastle | 5,793 | 59.98 | 3,865 | 40.02 | 54 | 9,712 | 10,446 | 92.97 | |
Pietermaritzburg District | 1,890 | 17.84 | 8,705 | 82.16 | 84 | 10,679 | 11,496 | 92.89 | |
Pietermaritzburg City | 3,689 | 29.12 | 8,978 | 70.88 | 84 | 12,751 | 13,866 | 91.96 | |
Pinetown | 1,705 | 15.90 | 9,016 | 84.10 | 46 | 10,767 | 11,520 | 93.46 | |
Umhlatuzana | 3,887 | 29.05 | 9,495 | 70.95 | 50 | 13,432 | 14,473 | 92.81 | |
Vryheid | 5,613 | 63.87 | 3,175 | 36.13 | 55 | 8,843 | 9,554 | 92.56 | |
Zululand | 3,666 | 35.81 | 6,570 | 64.19 | 34 | 10,270 | 11,057 | 92.88 | |
Orange Free State | Bethlehem | 7,689 | 82.56 | 1,624 | 17.44 | 87 | 9,400 | 10,400 | 90.38 |
Bloemfontein District | 8,773 | 84.33 | 1,630 | 15.67 | 29 | 10,432 | 11,803 | 88.38 | |
Bloemfontein East | 8,390 | 68.12 | 3,926 | 31.88 | 23 | 12,339 | 14,438 | 85.46 | |
Bloemfontein West | 8,468 | 65.35 | 4,490 | 34.65 | 22 | 12,980 | 14,551 | 89.20 | |
Fauresmith—Boshof | 7,174 | 82.08 | 1,566 | 17.92 | 45 | 8,785 | 9,333 | 94.13 | |
Harrismith | 6,969 | 82.04 | 1,526 | 17.96 | 43 | 8,538 | 9,195 | 92.85 | |
Heilbron | 8,328 | 78.42 | 2,292 | 21.58 | 85 | 10,705 | 11,751 | 91.10 | |
Kroonstad | 7,913 | 79.11 | 2,090 | 20.89 | 54 | 10,057 | 11,057 | 90.96 | |
Ladybrand | 6,315 | 76.25 | 1,967 | 23.75 | 146 | 8,428 | 9,154 | 92.07 | |
Odendaalsrus | 8,517 | 75.11 | 2,823 | 24.89 | 44 | 11,384 | 13,277 | 85.74 | |
Smithfield | 6,997 | 81.10 | 1,631 | 18.90 | 58 | 8,686 | 9,247 | 93.93 | |
Vredefort | 7,343 | 81.08 | 1,713 | 18.92 | 45 | 9,101 | 10,158 | 89.59 | |
Welkom | 9,437 | 67.01 | 4,647 | 32.99 | 50 | 14,134 | 16,147 | 87.53 | |
Winburg | 7,858 | 83.85 | 1,513 | 16.15 | 67 | 9,438 | 10,332 | 91.35 | |
South-West Africa | Etosha | 3,692 | 70.82 | 1,521 | 29.18 | 55 | 5,268 | 6,004 | 87.74 |
Karas | 2,933 | 58.37 | 2,092 | 41.63 | 44 | 5,069 | 5,533 | 91.61 | |
Middelland | 3,347 | 61.09 | 2,132 | 38.91 | 36 | 5,515 | 6,247 | 88.28 | |
Namib | 2,911 | 59.35 | 1,994 | 40.65 | 51 | 4,956 | 5,600 | 88.50 | |
Omaruru | 3,341 | 65.79 | 1,737 | 34.21 | 45 | 5,123 | 6,063 | 84.50 | |
Windhoek | 3,714 | 59.38 | 2,541 | 40.62 | 49 | 6,304 | 7,688 | 82.00 | |
Transvaal | Alberton | 8,154 | 68.48 | 3,753 | 31.52 | 32 | 11,939 | 13,457 | 88.72 |
Benoni | 4,400 | 40.38 | 6,497 | 59.62 | 36 | 10,933 | 12,266 | 89.13 | |
Bethal-Middelburg | 5,977 | 66.35 | 3,031 | 33.65 | 54 | 9,062 | 9,897 | 91.56 | |
Bezuidenhout | 2,279 | 21.44 | 8,352 | 78.56 | 35 | 10,666 | 12,031 | 88.65 | |
Boksburg | 6,871 | 54.22 | 5,801 | 45.78 | 63 | 12,735 | 13,798 | 92.30 | |
Brakpan | 6,796 | 61.72 | 4,215 | 38.28 | 22 | 11,033 | 12,496 | 88.29 | |
Brits | 7,038 | 77.67 | 2,023 | 22.33 | 81 | 9,142 | 10,018 | 91.26 | |
Christiana | 6,760 | 73.17 | 2,479 | 26.83 | 68 | 9,307 | 9,931 | 93.72 | |
Edenvale | 7,265 | 59.26 | 4,994 | 40.74 | 46 | 12,305 | 13,932 | 88.32 | |
Ermelo | 5,745 | 64.30 | 3,190 | 35.70 | 100 | 9,035 | 9,907 | 91.20 | |
Florida | 4,808 | 40.00 | 7,212 | 60.00 | 16 | 12,036 | 12,823 | 93.86 | |
Geduld | 7,640 | 64.07 | 4,284 | 35.93 | 40 | 11,964 | 13,520 | 88.49 | |
Germiston | 6,848 | 66.87 | 3,393 | 33.13 | 53 | 10,294 | 11,940 | 86.21 | |
Germiston District | 3,972 | 33.11 | 8,026 | 66.89 | 62 | 12,060 | 13,353 | 90.32 | |
Groblersdal | 7,129 | 79.98 | 1,784 | 20.02 | 56 | 8,969 | 9,811 | 91.42 | |
Heidelberg | 7,072 | 72.95 | 2,622 | 27.05 | 39 | 9,733 | 10,880 | 89.46 | |
Hercules | 9,502 | 84.92 | 1,687 | 15.08 | 30 | 11,219 | 13,095 | 85.67 | |
Hillbrow | 1,285 | 11.64 | 9,757 | 88.36 | 33 | 11,075 | 12,683 | 87.32 | |
Hospital | 2,162 | 23.78 | 6,929 | 76.22 | 30 | 9,121 | 11,012 | 82.83 | |
Houghton | 1,153 | 9.85 | 10,555 | 90.15 | 31 | 11,739 | 12,721 | 92.28 | |
Innesdal | 8,283 | 72.70 | 3,110 | 27.30 | 26 | 11,419 | 12,566 | 90.87 | |
Jeppes | 3,259 | 33.54 | 6,459 | 66.46 | 47 | 9,765 | 11,647 | 83.84 | |
Johannesburg North | 1,488 | 12.26 | 10,652 | 87.74 | 23 | 12,163 | 13,067 | 93.08 | |
Kempton Park | 8,577 | 66.97 | 4,231 | 33.03 | 68 | 12,876 | 14,276 | 90.19 | |
Kensington | 1,824 | 16.54 | 9,207 | 83.46 | 15 | 11,046 | 12,130 | 91.06 | |
Klerksdorp | 9,452 | 70.17 | 4,018 | 29.83 | 19 | 13,489 | 15,192 | 88.79 | |
Krugersdorp | 7,107 | 63.95 | 4,007 | 36.05 | 66 | 11,180 | 12,787 | 87.43 | |
Langlaagte | 6,853 | 61.76 | 4,244 | 38.24 | 50 | 11,147 | 12,340 | 90.33 | |
Lichtenburg | 7,333 | 79.55 | 1,885 | 20.45 | 31 | 9,249 | 10,094 | 91.63 | |
Losberg | 6,231 | 63.87 | 3,525 | 36.13 | 73 | 9,829 | 10,864 | 90.47 | |
Lydenburg—Barberton | 5,589 | 65.35 | 2,964 | 34.65 | 130 | 8,683 | 9,558 | 90.85 | |
Maraisburg | 7,412 | 70.81 | 3,055 | 29.19 | 41 | 10,508 | 12,332 | 85.21 | |
Marico | 5,756 | 68.56 | 2,640 | 31.44 | 39 | 8,435 | 9,073 | 92.97 | |
Mayfair | 6,278 | 65.49 | 3,308 | 34.51 | 74 | 9,660 | 11,256 | 85.82 | |
Nelspruit | 6,359 | 66.21 | 3,246 | 33.79 | 18 | 9,623 | 10,548 | 91.23 | |
Nigel | 6,883 | 64.74 | 3,749 | 35.26 | 29 | 10,661 | 11,660 | 91.43 | |
North East Rand | 2,875 | 24.29 | 8,959 | 75.71 | 32 | 11,866 | 12,805 | 92.67 | |
North West Rand | 6,700 | 57.42 | 4,969 | 42.58 | 37 | 11,706 | 12,711 | 92.09 | |
Orange Grove | 889 | 7.42 | 11,086 | 92.58 | 51 | 12,026 | 12,671 | 94.91 | |
Parktown | 1,038 | 8.89 | 10,640 | 91.11 | 29 | 11,707 | 12,491 | 93.72 | |
Pietersburg | 6,925 | 74.67 | 2,349 | 25.33 | 71 | 9,345 | 10,440 | 89.51 | |
Potchefstroom | 8,288 | 74.13 | 2,893 | 25.87 | 77 | 11,258 | 12,767 | 88.18 | |
Pretoria District | 7,086 | 65.28 | 3,768 | 34.72 | 33 | 10,887 | 11,845 | 91.91 | |
Pretoria East | 9,834 | 69.65 | 4,286 | 30.35 | 44 | 14,164 | 15,537 | 91.16 | |
Pretoria—Rissik | 5,664 | 44.89 | 6,954 | 55.11 | 26 | 12,644 | 13,848 | 91.31 | |
Pretoria Central | 6,958 | 71.46 | 2,779 | 28.54 | 14 | 9,751 | 11,607 | 84.01 | |
Pretoria—Sunnyside | 7,774 | 57.59 | 5,724 | 42.41 | 42 | 13,540 | 15,080 | 89.79 | |
Pretoria West | 8,453 | 75.12 | 2,799 | 24.88 | 54 | 11,306 | 13,324 | 84.85 | |
Prinshof | 7,709 | 67.28 | 3,749 | 32.72 | 35 | 11,493 | 13,540 | 84.88 | |
Randfontein | 6,918 | 64.37 | 3,830 | 35.63 | 77 | 10,825 | 11,911 | 90.88 | |
Roodepoort | 8,074 | 66.18 | 4,126 | 33.82 | 49 | 12,249 | 13,314 | 92.00 | |
Rosettenville | 2,631 | 22.95 | 8,833 | 77.05 | 46 | 11,510 | 12,834 | 89.68 | |
Rustenburg | 6,398 | 68.26 | 2,975 | 31.74 | 45 | 9,418 | 10,323 | 91.23 | |
Soutpansberg | 6,859 | 73.52 | 2,470 | 26.48 | 74 | 9,403 | 10,332 | 91.01 | |
Springs | 4,525 | 39.08 | 7,053 | 60.92 | 73 | 11,651 | 12,790 | 91.09 | |
Standerton | 6,003 | 64.00 | 3,376 | 36.00 | 66 | 9,445 | 10,286 | 91.82 | |
Turffontein | 3,974 | 35.06 | 7,360 | 64.94 | 70 | 11,404 | 12,772 | 89.29 | |
Vanderbijl Park | 9,497 | 74.63 | 3,229 | 25.37 | 35 | 12,761 | 13,877 | 91.96 | |
Ventersdorp | 6,695 | 67.64 | 3,203 | 32.36 | 91 | 9,989 | 11,026 | 90.59 | |
Vereeniging | 6,833 | 57.63 | 5,024 | 42.37 | 55 | 11,912 | 12,948 | 92.00 | |
Von Brandis | 2,319 | 24.54 | 7,131 | 75.46 | 50 | 9,500 | 11,210 | 84.75 | |
Wakketstroom | 6,443 | 73.22 | 2,357 | 26.78 | 63 | 8,863 | 9,545 | 92.85 | |
Waterberg | 7,576 | 85.97 | 1,236 | 14.03 | 38 | 8,850 | 9,652 | 91.69 | |
Westdene | 6,960 | 65.09 | 3,733 | 34.91 | 28 | 10,721 | 11,936 | 89.82 | |
Witbank | 6,439 | 68.07 | 3,020 | 31.93 | 34 | 9,493 | 10,683 | 88.86 | |
Wolmaransstad | 7,192 | 74.98 | 2,400 | 25.02 | 29 | 9,621 | 10,564 | 91.07 | |
Wonderboom | 8,368 | 82.74 | 1,746 | 17.26 | 70 | 10,184 | 11,667 | 87.29 | |
Yeoville | 1,195 | 10.58 | 10,100 | 89.42 | 43 | 11,338 | 12,749 | 88.93 |
Whites in the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State voted decisively in favour, as did those in South West Africa. On the eve of the establishment of the republic, Die Transvaler proclaimed:
Our republic is the inevitable fulfilment of God's plan for our people... a plan formed in 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck arrived at the Cape... for which the defeat of our republics in 1902 was a necessary step. [50]
In the Cape Province there was a smaller majority, despite the removal of the Cape Coloured franchise, while Natal voted overwhelmingly against; in the constituencies of Durban North, Pinetown and Durban Musgrave, the vote against a republic was 89.7, 83.7 and 92.7 per cent respectively. [51] Following the referendum result, Douglas Mitchell, the leader of the United Party in Natal, declared:
We in Natal will have no part or parcel of this Republic. We must resist, resist, and resist it - and the Nationalist Government. I have contracted Natal out of a republic on the strongest possible moral grounds that I can enunciate. [52]
Mitchell led a delegation from Natal seeking greater autonomy for the province, but without success. [53] Other whites in Natal went as far as to call for secession from the Union, along with some parts of the eastern Cape Province. [54] However, Mitchell rejected the idea of independence as "suicide", although he did not rule out asking for it in the future. [55]
In a conciliatory gesture to English-speaking whites, and a recognition that some had supported him in the referendum, Verwoerd appointed two English-speaking members to his cabinet. [40]
On 25 March 1961, in response to the referendum, the ANC held an All-In African Congress in Pietermaritzburg attended by 1398 delegates from all over the country. [56] It passed a resolution declaring that "no Constitution or form of Government decided without the participation of the African people who form an absolute majority of the population can enjoy moral validity or merit support either within South Africa or beyond its borders". [57]
It called for a National Convention, and the organising of mass demonstrations on the eve of what Nelson Mandela described as "the unwanted republic", if the government failed to call one. [58] He wrote:
The adoption of this part of the resolution did not mean that conference preferred a monarchy to a republican form of government. Such considerations were unimportant and irrelevant. The point at issue, and which was emphasised over and over again by delegates, was that a minority Government had decided to proclaim a White Republic under which the living conditions of the African people would continue to deteriorate. [59]
A three-day general strike was called in protest at the declaration of a republic, but Verwoerd responded by cancelling all police leaves, calling up 5,000 armed reservists of the Citizen Force, and ordering the arrest of thousands in black townships, although Mandela, by now head of the underground movement, managed to escape arrest. [1]
Originally every independent country in the Commonwealth was a Dominion with the British monarch as head of state. The 1949 London Declaration prior to India becoming a republic allowed countries with a different head of state to join or remain in the Commonwealth, but only by unanimous consent of the other members. The governments of Pakistan (in 1956) and, later, Ghana (in 1960) availed themselves of this principle, and the National Party had not ruled out South Africa's continued membership of the Commonwealth were there a vote in favour of a republic. [60]
However, the Commonwealth by 1960 included new Asian and African members, whose rulers saw the apartheid state's membership as an affront to the organisation's new democratic principles. Julius Nyerere, then Chief Minister of Tanganyika, indicated that his country, which was due to gain independence in 1961, would not join the Commonwealth were apartheid South Africa to remain a member. [61] A Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was convened in March 1961, a year ahead of schedule, to address the issue. [62] In response, Verwoerd stirred up a confrontation, causing many members to threaten to withdraw if South Africa's renewal of membership application was accepted. As a result, South Africa's membership application was withdrawn, meaning that upon its becoming a republic on 31 May 1961, the country's Commonwealth membership simply lapsed.
Many Afrikaners welcomed this as a clean break with the colonial past, along with the recreation of the Boer republics on a larger scale. [63] By contrast, Sir De Villiers Graaff remarked "how utterly alone and isolated our country has become", and called for another referendum on the republic issue, arguing that the end to Commonwealth membership had dramatically changed the situation. [64] Commenting on the enthusiastic welcome Verwoerd received from his supporters on his return, Douglas Mitchell remarked "They are cheering because we have withdrawn from the world. Will they cheer when the world withdraws from us?" [65]
In a speech made following the announcement, Verwoerd said:
I appeal to the English-speaking people of South Africa not to allow themselves to be hurt, though I can feel their sadness. A framework has fallen away, but what is of greater importance is friendship and getting together as one nation – as white people who have to defend their future together. Now there is a chance of standing together – one free country standing together on a basis which is the desire of friendship with Great Britain. [66]
Following the end of apartheid, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth, thirty-three years to the day that the republic was established. [67]
The Republic of South Africa was declared on 31 May 1961, Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state, and the last Governor General of the Union, Charles R. Swart, took office as the first State President. [68] Swart had been elected as State President by Parliament by 139 votes to 71, defeating H A Fagan, the former Chief Justice, favoured by the Opposition. [69]
Other symbolic changes also occurred:
Despite the change to republican status, the coat of arms of Natal continued to display a crown, which had only been added to the arms in 1954, although this was neither the St Edward's Crown, with which the Queen had been crowned, nor the Tudor Crown, used by previous British monarchs, but a distinctive design. [75]
Other references to the monarchy had been removed before the establishment of a republic:
The new decimalised currency, the Rand, which did not feature the Queen's portrait on either notes or coinage, had been introduced on 14 February 1961, three months before the establishment of the Republic. [79] Prior to its introduction, the government considered removing the Queen's head from the coinage of the South African pound. [77]
The most notable difference between the Constitution of the Republic and that of the Union was that the State President was the ceremonial head of state, in place of the Queen and Governor-General. [68] The title of "State President" (Staatspresident in Afrikaans) was previously used for the heads of state of both the South African Republic [80] and the Orange Free State. [81]
The National Party decided against having an executive presidency, instead adopting a minimalist approach, as a conciliatory gesture to whites who were opposed to a republic; [82] the office did not become an executive post until 1984. [83] Similarly, the Union Jack remained a feature of the country's flag until 1994, despite its unpopularity among many Afrikaners, and a proposal to adopt a new design on the tenth anniversary of the republic in 1971. [84]
Under the new Constitution, Afrikaans and English remained official languages, but the status of Afrikaans in relation to Dutch was altered; whereas the South Africa Act had made Dutch an official language alongside English, with Dutch defined to include Afrikaans under the Official Languages of the Union Act in 1925, the 1961 Constitution reversed this by making Afrikaans an official language alongside English, defining Afrikaans to include Dutch. [85]
The change in South Africa's constitutional status also resulted in changes to the country's public holidays, with the Queen's Birthday, commemorated on the second Monday in July, [86] being replaced by Family Day, while Union Day, commemorating the establishment of the Union on 31 May, became Republic Day. [87] Empire Day, which was commemorated on 24 May, but had come to be seen as an anachronism, [88] had been abolished in 1952. [89]
The Union of South Africa was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River colonies. It included the territories that were formerly part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Minister of South Africa. He is commonly regarded as the architect of apartheid and nicknamed the "father of apartheid". Verwoerd played a significant role in socially engineering apartheid, the country's system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and implementing its policies, as Minister of Native Affairs (1950–1958) and then as prime minister (1958–1966). Furthermore, Verwoerd played a vital role in helping the far-right National Party come to power in 1948, serving as their political strategist and propagandist, becoming party leader upon his premiership. He was the Union of South Africa's last prime minister, from 1958 to 1961, when he proclaimed the founding of the Republic of South Africa, remaining its prime minister until his assassination in 1966.
The National Party, also known as the Nationalist Party, was a political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, which initially promoted the interests of Afrikaners but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy, for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival, the South African Party (SAP), during the 1929-1939 Great Depression, and a splinter faction, the Re-United National Party became the official opposition during World War II and won power in 1948. With the National Party governing South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994, the country for the bulk of this time was only a de jure or partial democracy, as from 1958 onwards non-white people were barred from voting. In 1990, it began to style itself as simply a South African civic nationalist party, and after the fall of apartheid in 1994, attempted to become a moderate conservative one. The party's reputation was damaged irreparably by perpetrating apartheid, and it rebranded itself as the New National Party in 1997 before eventually dissolving in 2005.
Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom, also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was a South African politician and the fifth prime minister of South Africa from 30 November 1954 to his death on 24 August 1958. He was an uncompromising Afrikaner nationalist and a member of the largest, baasskap faction of the National Party (NP), who further accentuated the NP's apartheid policies and break with the Union of South Africa in favour of a republic during his rule.
The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, D. H. C. du Plessis and the Rev. Jozua Naudé in 1918 as Jong Zuid Afrika until 1920, when it was renamed the Broederbond. Its influence within South African political and social life came to a climax with the 1948-1994 rule of the white supremacist National Party and its policy of apartheid, which was largely developed and implemented by Broederbond members. Between 1948 and 1994, many prominent figures of Afrikaner political, cultural, and religious life, including every leader of the South African government, were members of the Afrikaner Broederbond.
The Conservative Party was a far-right South African political party that sought to preserve many aspects of apartheid in the system's final decade, and formed the official opposition in the white-only House of Assembly in the last seven years of minority rule. It declined quickly after apartheid ended, before being merged with the Freedom Front in 2004.
Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé was a South African Afrikaner Calvinist Dominee, theologian and the leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist. He was known simply as Beyers Naudé, or more colloquially, Oom Bey.
From 1910 to 1961 the Union of South Africa was a self-governing country that shared a monarch with the United Kingdom and other Dominions of the British Empire. The monarch's constitutional roles were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. Under this minoritarian system, white citizens held the highest status, followed by Indians, Coloureds and black Africans, in that order. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.
A Volkstaat, also called a Boerestaat, is a proposed White homeland for Afrikaners within the borders of South Africa, most commonly proposed as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner nation. The proposed state would exclude Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds but accept South Africans of English ancestry and other White South Africans, if they accept Afrikaner culture and customs.
Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, known as Div Graaff, was a South African politician who succeeded his father, Sir David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, 1st Baronet, to his baronetcy in 1931. He died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son, Sir David de Villiers Graaff, 3rd Baronet. He was the leader of the centrist United Party which was the official opposition in the then all-white South African Parliament from 1956 to 1977.
General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D. F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric.
The South Africa Act 1909 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Union of South Africa out of the former Cape, Natal, Orange River, and Transvaal colonies. The Act also allowed for potential admission of Rhodesia into the Union, a proposal rejected by Rhodesian colonists in a 1922 referendum. The draft proposal was supported by the four colonial parliaments, but was opposed by Cape Colony premier W. P. Schreiner, who raised concerns that it would strip rights from non-white South Africans.
Afrikaner nationalism is an ethnic nationalistic political ideology created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrikaner history such as the Great Trek, the First and Second Boer Wars and the resulting anti-British sentiment and Anti-communism that developed among Afrikaners and opposition to South Africa's entry into World War I.
The Union Federal Party was a relatively liberal white South African party that broke away from the United Party after the 1953 election. It never gained any seats in Parliament, and ceased to exist in 1960.
Jacob Albertus Marais was an Afrikaner nationalist thinker, author, politician, Member of Parliament, and leader of the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP) from 1977 until his death in 2000.
Eric Hendrik Louw was a South African diplomat and politician. He served as the Minister of Finance from 1954 to 1956, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1955 to 1963.
The Constitution of 1961 was the fundamental law of South Africa for two decades. Under the terms of the constitution South Africa left the Commonwealth and became a republic.
The "Wind of Change" speech was an address made by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa on 3 February 1960 in Cape Town. He had spent a month in Africa in visiting a number of British colonies. When the Labour Party was in government from 1945 to 1951, it had started a process of decolonisation, but the policy had been halted or at least slowed down by the Conservative governments since 1951. Macmillan's speech signalled that the Conservative Party, which formed the British government, would no longer impede independence for many of those territories.
Henry Allan Fagan, QC was the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1957 to 1959 and previously a Member of Parliament and the Minister of Native Affairs in J. B. M. Hertzog's government. Fagan had been an early supporter of the Afrikaans language movement and a noted Afrikaans playwright and novelist. Though he was a significant figure in the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and a long-term member of the Broederbond, he later became an important opponent of Hendrik Verwoerd's National Party and is best known for the report of the Fagan Commission, whose relatively liberal approach to racial integration amounted to the Smuts government's last, doomed stand against the policy of apartheid.
On 5 October 1960 a referendum was held in which White voters were asked "Do you support a republic for the Union?" — 52 percent voted 'Yes'.