Election 1994 and the new South Africa
South Africa’s First Non-Racial Election
On 27–29 April 1994, South Africa held its first non-racial general election. Voters of all races could vote for the first time. The proportional representation system meant that parties won seats broadly in line with their share of the vote. The turnout was enormous: an estimated 19.7 million people voted out of a total eligible electorate of about 22 million.
Images of queues stretching for kilometres became iconic around the world — many people waiting for hours, some for an entire day, to cast their first vote. For millions who had never voted, the act of placing a ballot was itself a historic and emotional experience. International observers, including former US President Jimmy Carter and teams from the United Nations and the Commonwealth, declared the election substantially free and fair.
The ANC won 62.6 per cent of the vote — a large majority but just below the two-thirds required to rewrite the constitution unilaterally. The NP won 20.4 per cent; the Inkatha Freedom Party won 10.5 per cent, predominantly in KwaZulu-Natal. The results broadly followed racial voting patterns but Mandela won respect across racial lines.
The Government of National Unity
The negotiated settlement had included a “sunset clause” — agreed by the ANC’s negotiators — requiring the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) for five years. Under this arrangement, any party winning at least 5 per cent of the vote was entitled to seats in the cabinet, and any party winning 20 per cent could name a Deputy President. F.W. de Klerk became one of two Deputy Presidents alongside Thabo Mbeki.
The sunset clause was controversial within the ANC. Some felt it gave too much to the NP and left key state structures — including the civil service, the security forces and the judiciary — largely unchanged. Joe Slovo, the SACP leader who proposed the sunset clauses, argued it was the price of a peaceful transition. Historians continue to debate whether the compromise was a triumph of pragmatism or a structural limit on transformation.
On 9 May 1994, the new National Assembly elected Nelson Mandela as President. His inauguration on 10 May 1994, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, was attended by world leaders and broadcast globally. South African Air Force jets flew overhead — the same force that had been used to enforce apartheid now saluting a black president.
Mandela’s inauguration speech emphasised reconciliation. He spoke of “a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world” — a phrase that captured the mood of the moment. Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s phrase “rainbow nation” entered global consciousness. However, historians note that the euphoria of 1994 should be distinguished from the realities that followed — poverty, inequality and land distribution remained largely unresolved.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission
In 1995, the new South African parliament established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The TRC invited perpetrators of human rights violations to apply for amnesty in exchange for full and honest disclosure of their crimes. Victims were able to tell their stories publicly.
The TRC documented atrocities committed by ALL sides — the apartheid state, the ANC and MK, Inkatha and the “third force.” The ANC was found to have committed human rights abuses in its exile camps; MK had used violence that harmed civilians in some operations; the state’s atrocities were the most systematic and the most numerous. The TRC’s approach was deliberately neither amnesty without accountability nor criminal prosecution without acknowledgement — it was a compromise designed for a society that needed to function together.
The 1996 Final Constitution, adopted two years after the election, replaced the Interim Constitution and enshrined a bill of rights, independent judiciary and constitutional democracy. South Africa’s transformation was legal and constitutional, but structural inequalities — land, wealth, access to education — inherited from apartheid proved much harder to address.
The 1994 election ended formal apartheid and established a constitutional democracy. It did not redistribute land or wealth. The “sunset clauses” left existing state employees — including apartheid-era security officials — in post. No significant land reform occurred; South Africa remained one of the most unequal societies on earth. These realities were known at the time — the ANC accepted them as the price of a peaceful transition, a choice that remained contested among its supporters.