1994 South African general election

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1994 South African general election
Flag of South Africa.svg
  1989 26–29 April 1994 1999  

All 400 seats in the National Assembly
201 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Nelson Mandela 1994.jpg
F.W. de Klerk wait to speak in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania LCCN2011634246 (cropped).tif
Buthelezi2.jpg
Leader Nelson Mandela F. W. de Klerk Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Party ANC NP IFP
Last electionBanned party48.19%, 94 seatsDid not exist
Seats won2528243
Seat changeNew partyDecrease2.svg 12New party
Popular vote12,237,6553,983,6902,058,294
Percentage62.65%20.39%10.54%
SwingNew partyDecrease2.svg 27.80ppNew party

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Constand Viljoen c. 1985.png
De Beer (cropped).png
ClarenceMakwetu (cropped).jpg
Leader Constand Viljoen Zach de Beer Clarence Makwetu
Party VF DP Pan Africanist Congress of Azani
Last electionDid not exist20.00%, 33 seatsBanned party
Seats won975
Seat changeNew partyDecrease2.svg 26New party
Popular vote424,555338,426243,478
Percentage2.17%1.73%1.25%
SwingNew partyDecrease2.svg 18.27ppNew party

[[File:1995 South African general election.svg|402px]]

State President before election

F. W. de Klerk
NP

Elected President

Nelson Mandela
ANC

Ballot paper used in the 1994 election South African 1994 election ballot paper.jpg
Ballot paper used in the 1994 election
Share of each party's votes in the election RSA1994 Election.png
Share of each party's votes in the election

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.

Contents

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. He then appointed the Cabinet of Nelson Mandela.

The date 27 April is now a public holiday in South Africa, Freedom Day.

Background

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 Conservative Party, the official opposition in the outgoing National Assembly, did not contest the elections. The Herstigte Nasionale Party, which had run in the white-only elections in 1989 also chose not to run.

Results

National Assembly

The 400 members of the National Assembly were chosen from party lists in proportion to each party's share of the national ballot.

South African National Assembly 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 12,237,65562.65252
National Party 3,983,69020.3982
Inkatha Freedom Party 2,058,29410.5443
Freedom Front 424,5552.179
Democratic Party 338,4261.737
Pan Africanist Congress 243,4781.255
African Christian Democratic Party 88,1040.452
Africa Muslim Party 34,4660.180
African Moderates Congress Party27,6900.140
Dikwankwetla Party 19,4510.100
Federal Party17,6630.090
Minority Front 13,4330.070
Sport Organisation for Collective Contributions and Equal Rights10,5750.050
African Democratic Movement9,8860.050
Women's Rights Peace Party6,4340.030
Ximoko Progressive Party 6,3200.030
Keep It Straight and Simple Party 5,9160.030
Workers' List Party 4,1690.020
Luso-South African Party3,2930.020
Total19,533,498100.00400
Valid votes19,533,49899.02
Invalid/blank votes193,1120.98
Total votes19,726,610100.00
Source: African Elections Database

Senate

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.

South African Senate 1994.svg
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 Total
African National Congress 986388510360
National Party 1121114617
Inkatha Freedom Party 55
Freedom Front 111115
Democratic Party 1113
Total10101010101010101090
Source: 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.

South African National Council of Provinces 1997.svg
Initial determination of delegates to the National Council of Provinces at the adoption of the new Constitution on 4 February 1997
PartyDelegate type EC FS G KZN M NW NC NP WC Total
African National Congress Permanent5431443623260
Special44324424128
National Party Permanent111111231117
Special1236
Inkatha Freedom Party Permanent335
Special22
Freedom Front Permanent111115
Democratic Party Permanent1113
Total10101010101010101090
Source: Constitution of South Africa [3]

Provincial legislature results

Members 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 WC
ANC 482450262526153814
National 642193312123
IFP 0034100000
Freedom Front 025021211
Democratic 105200103
PAC 101100000
ACDP 001100001
MF 1
Total563086813030304042

Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 2,453,79084.3548
National Party 286,0299.836
Democratic Party 59,6442.051
Pan Africanist Congress 59,4752.041
Freedom Front 23,1670.800
African Christian Democratic Party 14,9080.510
Inkatha Freedom Party 5,0500.170
African Democratic Movement4,8150.170
Merit Party 2,0280.070
Total2,908,906100.0056
Valid votes2,908,90699.55
Invalid/blank votes13,2480.45
Total votes2,922,154100.00
Source: Election Resources

Free State

Free State Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 1,037,99876.6524
National Party 170,45212.594
Freedom Front 81,6626.032
Pan Africanist Congress 24,4511.810
Dikwankwetla Party 17,0241.260
Democratic Party 7,6640.570
Inkatha Freedom Party 6,9350.510
African Christian Democratic Party 6,0720.450
African Democratic Movement2,0080.150
Total1,354,266100.0030
Valid votes1,354,26699.25
Invalid/blank votes10,2860.75
Total votes1,364,552100.00
Source: Election Resources

Gauteng

Gauteng Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 2,418,25757.6050
National Party 1,002,54023.8821
Freedom Front 258,9356.175
Democratic Party 223,5485.325
Inkatha Freedom Party 153,5673.663
Pan Africanist Congress 61,5121.471
African Christian Democratic Party 25,5420.611
Federal Party16,2790.390
Africa Muslim Party 12,8880.310
Women's Rights Peace Party7,2790.170
Luso-South African Party5,4230.130
Dikwankwetla Party 4,8530.120
African Democratic Movement4,3520.100
Ximoko Progressive Party 3,2750.080
Total4,198,250100.0086
Valid votes4,198,25099.40
Invalid/blank votes25,3830.60
Total votes4,223,633100.00
Source: Election Resources

KwaZulu/Natal

KwaZuluNatal Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Inkatha Freedom Party 1,844,07050.3241
African National Congress 1,181,11832.2326
National Party 410,71011.219
Democratic Party 78,9102.152
Minority Front 48,9511.341
Pan Africanist Congress 26,6010.731
African Christian Democratic Party 24,6900.671
Freedom Front 18,6250.510
Africa Muslim Party 17,9310.490
African Democratic Movement8,0920.220
Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International 4,6260.130
Total3,664,324100.0081
Valid votes3,664,32498.94
Invalid/blank votes39,3691.06
Total votes3,703,693100.00
Source: Election Resources

Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 1,070,05280.6925
National Party 119,3119.003
Freedom Front 75,1205.662
Pan Africanist Congress 21,6791.630
Inkatha Freedom Party 20,1471.520
Democratic Party 7,4370.560
African Christian Democratic Party 6,3390.480
African Democratic Movement5,0620.380
Right Party9210.070
Total1,326,068100.0030
Valid votes1,326,06899.06
Invalid/blank votes12,6310.94
Total votes1,338,699100.00
Source: Election Resources

North-West

North West Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 1,310,08083.3326
National Party 138,9868.843
Freedom Front 72,8214.631
Pan Africanist Congress 27,2741.730
Democratic Party 7,8940.500
Inkatha Freedom Party 5,9480.380
African Christian Democratic Party 5,5700.350
African Democratic Movement3,5690.230
Total1,572,142100.0030
Valid votes1,572,14298.81
Invalid/blank votes18,9741.19
Total votes1,591,116100.00
Source: Election Resources

Northern Cape

Northern Cape Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 200,83949.7415
National Party 163,45240.4812
Freedom Front 24,1175.972
Democratic Party 7,5671.871
Pan Africanist Congress 3,7650.930
Inkatha Freedom Party 1,6880.420
African Christian Democratic Party 1,6100.400
African Democratic Movement7340.180
Total403,772100.0030
Valid votes403,77299.13
Invalid/blank votes3,5340.87
Total votes407,306100.00
Source: Election Resources

Limpopo

Northern Province Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
African National Congress 1,759,59791.6338
National Party 62,7453.271
Freedom Front 41,1932.151
Pan Africanist Congress 24,3601.270
United People's Front10,1230.530
African Christian Democratic Party 7,3630.380
Ximoko Progressive Party 4,9630.260
Democratic Party 4,0210.210
African Democratic Movement3,6620.190
Inkatha Freedom Party 2,2330.120
Total1,920,260100.0040
Valid votes1,920,26099.29
Invalid/blank votes13,7020.71
Total votes1,933,962100.00
Source: Election Resources

Western Cape

Western Cape Provincial Legislature 1994.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
National Party 1,138,24253.2523
African National Congress 705,57633.0114
Democratic Party 141,9706.643
Freedom Front 44,0032.061
African Christian Democratic Party 25,7311.201
Pan Africanist Congress 22,6761.060
Africa Muslim Party 20,9540.980
Islamic Party16,7620.780
Inkatha Freedom Party 7,4450.350
Wes-Kaap Federaliste Party6,3370.300
South African Women's Party2,6410.120
Green Party 2,6110.120
African Democratic Movement1,9390.090
Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International 8550.040
Total2,137,742100.0042
Valid votes2,137,74299.50
Invalid/blank votes10,7140.50
Total votes2,148,456100.00
Source: Election Resources

Legacy

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]

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References

  1. South Africa: Parliamentary Chamber: National Assembly: Elections held in 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The bargain that saved us in 1994". The Sunday Independent.
  3. 1 2 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 , Schedule 6: "Transitional Arrangements", item 7.
  4. "S Africa marks democracy anniversary". aljazeera.com.