General elections were held in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 6 September 1989, the last under

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. Snap elections had been called early (no election was required until 1992) by the recently elected head of the National Party (NP), F. W. de Klerk, who was in the process of replacing P. W. Botha as the country's president, and his expected program of reform to include further retreat from the policy of apartheid. The creation of the Conservative Party had realigned the NP as a moderate party, now almost certain to initiate negotiations with the black opposition, with liberal opposition (the PFP) openly seeking a new constitutional settlement on liberal democratic and federalist principles. Although the National Party won a comfortable majority of seats (94 of 166) in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, the governing party suffered a setback and received only 48% of the popular vote, the first elections since 1961 in which the NP failed to win a majority of the vote. However, the first-past-the-post system, and a severely fractured opposition as well as the twelve appointed and indirectly elected members entrenched the NP's majority, allowing it to comfortably remain in power. The Conservative Party (CP), which opposed any form of power-sharing with other races, failed to accomplish a breakthrough beyond its conservative

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

backing as some had expected, but remained the official opposition with 39 seats. By some estimates, the party had received the backing of a slim majority of Afrikaners particularly in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

, once the NP's heartland, but with very limited support among English-speaking voters. Before the elections, the liberal Progressive Federal Party (PFP) had dissolved itself and regrouped as the Democratic Party (DP), winning 33 seats, six seats short of retaking its position as the official opposition. In terms of vote share, it fell a quarter million votes behind the CP, but was favoured by its stronghold in the Cape Province and Natal.

House of Assembly (white)

The White Chamber of Parliament had 178 members, 166 of whom were directly elected (including a seat from Walvis Bay annexed from

South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...

, which was added in 1981) with 8 members indirectly elected by the directly elected members on the basis of proportional representation and four nominated by the State President (one from each province).1981 House of Assembly Election
African Elections Database The results of the election were interpreted by the government (based on support for the NP and the DP together) as a mandate from the white electorate to reform the apartheid system and seek a compromise with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

and its leader

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. Mandela was released half a year later, and the 1989 elections were the last under the limited, whites-only franchise and the Tricameral Parliament introduced in 1984. Of the twelve appointed and indirectly-elected seats, nine were taken by the National Party, two by the Conservative Party and one by the Democratic Party.South Africa: Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly: Elections held in 1989
Inter-Parliamentary Union Two seats won by the Democratic Party were uncontested, while the National and Conservative parties were tied in the Orange Free State division of Fauresmith. A five-month court battle followed after the Free State Supreme Court ordered a recount, which eventually resulted in a majority of five votes for the National Party candidate.Aucamp, J.M. (2010
Die Nasionale Party van Suid-Afrika se laaste dekade as regerende party, 1984-1994
page 242

Provincial breakdown

Cape Province

Natal

Orange Free State

Transvaal

House of Representatives (coloured)

All five appointed and indirectly-elected seats were taken by the Labour Party.

House of Delegates (Indian)

Of the five appointed and indirectly-elected seats, three were taken by Solidarity, one by the National People’s Party and one by the Merit People's Party.

References

Notes

{{South African elections General elections in South Africa

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...