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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Between apartheid and democracy: the South African election of 1989
Author:Taylor, R.ISNI
Year:1990
Periodical:South African Review - SARS
Issue:5
Pages:56-67
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:elections
1989
Abstract:The early months of 1989 signalled the end of South Africa's P.W. Botha era. On 18 January he suffered a stroke and on 2 February he stepped down as National Party (NP) leader, forcing a snap leadership election. The NP caucus elected F.W. De Klerk, while Botha remained State President. As friction developed within the NP leadership it was agreed that an election would be held on 6 September 1989 and thereafter Botha would retire. (under the Constitution an election had to be held by March 1990). Three political parties campaigned in the five months before the election: the Conservative Party (CP), which demanded a return to Verwoerdian apartheid; the Democratic Party (DP), which stood for one-person one-vote in a federal system; and the NP, which held the belief that a position somewhere between apartheid and democracy could be arrived at. The election results show a loss for the NP of 17 seats to the CP and 12 to the DP. The NP was returned to power with 93 seats (a good 9 seats above the absolute majority). The DP ended up with a total of 33 seats, the CP with 39 seats. As the NP did not commit itself to any specific proposals for reform in its campaign, it cannot simply be assumed that the NP vote was a vote for reform. Ref.
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