1994 South African general election

← 1989 26–29 April 1994 1999 →
elected members →
All 400 seats in the National Assembly 201 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Nelson Mandela F. W. de Klerk Mangosuthu Buthelezi Party ANC NP IFP Last election Banned party 48.19%, 94 seats Did not exist Seats won 252 82 43 Seat change New party 12 New party Popular vote 12,237,655 3,983,690 2,058,294 Percentage 62.65% 20.39% 10.54% Swing New party 27.80pp New party   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Constand Viljoen Zach de Beer Clarence Makwetu Party VF DP PAC Last election Did not exist 20.00%, 33 seats Banned party Seats won 9 7 5 Seat change New party 26 New party Popular vote 424,555 338,426 243,478 Percentage 2.17% 1.73% 1.25% Swing New party 18.27pp New party
State President before election F. W. de Klerk NP Elected President Nelson Mandela ANC

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of South Africa
Constitution Bill of Rights
Executive President Cyril Ramaphosa Deputy President Paul Mashatile Cabinet Departments Shadow Cabinet
Legislature National Council of Provinces Chairperson Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza Leader of the Opposition John Hlophe
Judiciary Chief Justice Ray Zondo Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya Courts Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Appeal President: Mahube Molemela High Court Magistrate's courts Electoral Court
Elections General 1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1974 1977 1981 1984 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 2024 Municipal 2000 2006 2011 2016 2021 Referendums 1960 1983 1992 Political parties
Administrative divisions Provinces Districts Metropolitan municipality District municipality Municipalities (list)
Foreign relations Department of International Relations and Cooperation Minister: Naledi Pandor Diplomatic missions of / in South Africa Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Related topics Human rights National debt Political assassinations Protests Repression Social Welfare Taxation
Provincial politics Politics of the Eastern Cape Politics of the Free State Politics of Gauteng Politics of KwaZulu-Natal Politics of Limpopo Politics of Mpumalanga Politics of the Northern Cape Politics of North West Politics of the Western Cape
South Africa portal Other countries

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 (SACP), 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.

In 1948, the newly elected National Party government in South Africa began to institute apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation that placed sociopolitical dominance in the hands of the European-descended white minority. Under the Population Registration Act, 1950, all South Africans were categorised by the government as White, Black, Coloured (mixed) or Indian. Suffrage was reserved for Whites, interracial sexual relationships were forbidden and over 80% of the country's land was reserved for the white majority. Members of the Black majority were stripped of citizenship under the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970, and were instead made citizens of one of the country's "bantustans", territories reserved for various black ethnic groups.^[2] The South African government faced international condemnation against the backdrop of the decolonisation of Africa, and by the 1980s, the state was struggling with major internal political violence, a war of independence in Namibia and intervention in Angola and a failing economy burdened by international sanctions and the heavy costs of national security, effectively forcing the government to move towards political reform.^[3]

In 1983, P. W. Botha's government approved a new constitution, which implemented a Tricameral Parliament, with additional houses representing the Coloured and Indian populations. However, Blacks remained unrepresented in parliament, with political representation only existing under the bantustan system. Anti-apartheid groups opposed to the Tricameral Parliament instead reorganized under the umbrella of the United Democratic Front. The 1984 election to the non-white houses of parliament also faced widespread boycotts from Indian and Coloured voters.^[4][5] In 1985, the government introduced a sweeping state of emergency in response to growing civil unrest, which included sweeping restrictions on freedom of movement, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, particularly for non-White South Africans.^[6] In 1989, F. W. de Klerk was elected State President of South Africa, succeeding Botha. On 2 February 1990, de Klerk made a speech at the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, in which he unexpectedly announced his intention to unban anti-apartheid groups such as the ANC, SACP and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), to release political prisoners such as ANC leader Nelson Mandela and requested a process of negotiation with the anti-apartheid opposition.^[7][8] On 11 February, Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison in Cape Town, after 27 years of incarceration.^[9]

Formal negotiations between the ANC and the government were initially scheduled to begin on 11 April 1990. However on 26 March, police opened fire on protestors in the township of Sebokeng, killing 11 people. Consequently, the ANC cancelled the talks, and negotiations were only rescheduled for 2–4 May following an emergency meeting between Mandela and de Klerk. The "talks about talks" were held at the Groote Schuur presidential estate, and were intended to discuss terms before more substantive constitutional negotiations could begin. The parties jointly agreed to aim to end political violence, and to establish a joint working group. On 6 August, the government and ANC issued a further joint declaration, known as the Pretoria Minute, in which the ANC and its armed wing, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) agreed to the suspension of armed activities, in exchange for the government lifting of the State of Emergency (then only active in Natal Province), further release of political prisoners from September 1990, and a review of certain provisions of the Internal Security Act.^[10][11] On 14 September 1991, 24 organisations signed the National Peace Accord, which included a code of conduct for political parties and security forces, and structures for the resolution of political conflict, such as the Goldstone Commission.^[12]

On 30 November 1991, 19 organisations announced that the first meeting of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) would be held in Johannesburg on 20 and 21 December 1991, in order to discuss constitutional arrangements.^[13] The CODESA 1 plenary session saw all participating groups, except for the Inkatha Freedom Party and the government of the Bophuthatswana homeland, agree to a declaration of intent on establishing a united South Africa with common citizenship for all racial groups, and to promote peaceful political participation so that constitutional change could be advanced. Working groups were stablished with the aim of forming a constitution-making body, deciding the future of the bantustans, and establishing an interim government within a set time frame. CODESA 1 was not attended by the PAC, Conservative Party or Azanian People's Organisation.^[14][15] Around the same time, de Klerk's National Party government faced a series of whites-only by-election losses, leading his government to hold a referendum on 17 March 1992 on the continuation of the negotiation process, producing a landslide victory for the government, with 68.3% of voters approving the process.^[16] The second session, CODESA 2, convened at the Kempton Park World Trade Centre on 25 May 1992.^[17]

After initially announcing a boycott due to constitutional disagreements, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) reversed its decision on 19 April, days before the election. It was added to the already-printed ballot papers by means of a sticker.^[18][19] In rural areas with limited infrastructure, people queued "for days" in order to vote.^[18]

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

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

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	12,237,655	62.65	252
	National Party	3,983,690	20.39	82
	Inkatha Freedom Party	2,058,294	10.54	43
	Freedom Front	424,555	2.17	9
	Democratic Party	338,426	1.73	7
	Pan Africanist Congress	243,478	1.25	5
	African Christian Democratic Party	88,104	0.45	2
	Africa Muslim Party	34,466	0.18	0
	African Moderates Congress Party	27,690	0.14	0
	Dikwankwetla Party	19,451	0.10	0
	Federal Party	17,663	0.09	0
	Minority Front	13,433	0.07	0
	Sport Organisation for Collective Contributions and Equal Rights	10,575	0.05	0
	African Democratic Movement	9,886	0.05	0
	Women's Rights Peace Party	6,434	0.03	0
	Ximoko Progressive Party	6,320	0.03	0
	Keep It Straight and Simple Party	5,916	0.03	0
	Workers' List Party	4,169	0.02	0
	Luso-South African Party	3,293	0.02	0
Total		19,533,498	100.00	400
Valid votes		19,533,498	99.02
Invalid/blank votes		193,112	0.98
Total votes		19,726,610	100.00
Source: African Elections Database

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	Total
	African National Congress	9	8	6	3	8	8	5	10	3	60
	National Party	1	1	2	1	1	1	4		6	17
	Inkatha Freedom Party				5						5
	Freedom Front		1	1		1	1	1			5
	Democratic Party			1	1					1	3
Total		10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	90
Source: Constitution of South Africa[20]

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	Total
	African National Congress	Permanent	5	4	3	1	4	4	3	6	2	32	60
		Special	4	4	3	2	4	4	2	4	1	28
	National Party	Permanent	1	1	1	1	1	1	2		3	11	17
		Special			1				2		3	6
	Inkatha Freedom Party	Permanent				3						3	5
		Special				2						2
	Freedom Front	Permanent		1	1		1	1	1			5
	Democratic Party	Permanent			1	1					1	3
Total			10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	90
Source: Constitution of South Africa[20]

Members of the provincial legislatures were elected from party lists in proportion to each party's share of the provincial ballot.

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	2,453,790	84.35	48
	National Party	286,029	9.83	6
	Democratic Party	59,644	2.05	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	59,475	2.04	1
	Freedom Front	23,167	0.80	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	14,908	0.51	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	5,050	0.17	0
	African Democratic Movement	4,815	0.17	0
	Merit Party	2,028	0.07	0
Total		2,908,906	100.00	56
Valid votes		2,908,906	99.55
Invalid/blank votes		13,248	0.45
Total votes		2,922,154	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	1,037,998	76.65	24
	National Party	170,452	12.59	4
	Freedom Front	81,662	6.03	2
	Pan Africanist Congress	24,451	1.81	0
	Dikwankwetla Party	17,024	1.26	0
	Democratic Party	7,664	0.57	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	6,935	0.51	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	6,072	0.45	0
	African Democratic Movement	2,008	0.15	0
Total		1,354,266	100.00	30
Valid votes		1,354,266	99.25
Invalid/blank votes		10,286	0.75
Total votes		1,364,552	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	2,418,257	57.60	50
	National Party	1,002,540	23.88	21
	Freedom Front	258,935	6.17	5
	Democratic Party	223,548	5.32	5
	Inkatha Freedom Party	153,567	3.66	3
	Pan Africanist Congress	61,512	1.47	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	25,542	0.61	1
	Federal Party	16,279	0.39	0
	Africa Muslim Party	12,888	0.31	0
	Women's Rights Peace Party	7,279	0.17	0
	Luso-South African Party	5,423	0.13	0
	Dikwankwetla Party	4,853	0.12	0
	African Democratic Movement	4,352	0.10	0
	Ximoko Progressive Party	3,275	0.08	0
Total		4,198,250	100.00	86
Valid votes		4,198,250	99.40
Invalid/blank votes		25,383	0.60
Total votes		4,223,633	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,844,070	50.32	41
	African National Congress	1,181,118	32.23	26
	National Party	410,710	11.21	9
	Democratic Party	78,910	2.15	2
	Minority Front	48,951	1.34	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	26,601	0.73	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	24,690	0.67	1
	Freedom Front	18,625	0.51	0
	Africa Muslim Party	17,931	0.49	0
	African Democratic Movement	8,092	0.22	0
	Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International	4,626	0.13	0
Total		3,664,324	100.00	81
Valid votes		3,664,324	98.94
Invalid/blank votes		39,369	1.06
Total votes		3,703,693	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	1,070,052	80.69	25
	National Party	119,311	9.00	3
	Freedom Front	75,120	5.66	2
	Pan Africanist Congress	21,679	1.63	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	20,147	1.52	0
	Democratic Party	7,437	0.56	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	6,339	0.48	0
	African Democratic Movement	5,062	0.38	0
	Right Party	921	0.07	0
Total		1,326,068	100.00	30
Valid votes		1,326,068	99.06
Invalid/blank votes		12,631	0.94
Total votes		1,338,699	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	1,310,080	83.33	26
	National Party	138,986	8.84	3
	Freedom Front	72,821	4.63	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	27,274	1.73	0
	Democratic Party	7,894	0.50	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	5,948	0.38	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	5,570	0.35	0
	African Democratic Movement	3,569	0.23	0
Total		1,572,142	100.00	30
Valid votes		1,572,142	98.81
Invalid/blank votes		18,974	1.19
Total votes		1,591,116	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	200,839	49.74	15
	National Party	163,452	40.48	12
	Freedom Front	24,117	5.97	2
	Democratic Party	7,567	1.87	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	3,765	0.93	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	1,688	0.42	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	1,610	0.40	0
	African Democratic Movement	734	0.18	0
Total		403,772	100.00	30
Valid votes		403,772	99.13
Invalid/blank votes		3,534	0.87
Total votes		407,306	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	1,759,597	91.63	38
	National Party	62,745	3.27	1
	Freedom Front	41,193	2.15	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	24,360	1.27	0
	United People's Front	10,123	0.53	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	7,363	0.38	0
	Ximoko Progressive Party	4,963	0.26	0
	Democratic Party	4,021	0.21	0
	African Democratic Movement	3,662	0.19	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	2,233	0.12	0
Total		1,920,260	100.00	40
Valid votes		1,920,260	99.29
Invalid/blank votes		13,702	0.71
Total votes		1,933,962	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	National Party	1,138,242	53.25	23
	African National Congress	705,576	33.01	14
	Democratic Party	141,970	6.64	3
	Freedom Front	44,003	2.06	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	25,731	1.20	1
	Pan Africanist Congress	22,676	1.06	0
	Africa Muslim Party	20,954	0.98	0
	Islamic Party	16,762	0.78	0
	Inkatha Freedom Party	7,445	0.35	0
	Wes-Kaap Federaliste Party	6,337	0.30	0
	South African Women's Party	2,641	0.12	0
	Green Party	2,611	0.12	0
	African Democratic Movement	1,939	0.09	0
	Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International	855	0.04	0
Total		2,137,742	100.00	42
Valid votes		2,137,742	99.50
Invalid/blank votes		10,714	0.50
Total votes		2,148,456	100.00
Source: Election Resources

Following the elections, 27 April subsequently became a national public holiday, Freedom Day.^[21]

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.^[18] 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.^[18]

• US Department of the Army, South Africa Country Study, "The 1994 Elections"
• IEC results for 1994 election
• Proportional representation and alternative systems