HIstory of Democracy in South Africa

  • First election

    First election
    First general election, only White males were allowed to vote.
  • second election

    second election
    Second general election in which the main issue was South Africa’s participation in World War I.
  • pact between the National Party and the Labour Party.

    This election was forced on the government by the expression of no confidence in Smuts’s policies. The outcome led to a PACT between the National Party and the Labour Party.
  • fifth eletion

    fifth eletion
    This election was centred on strategies of dealing with the crisis occasioned by the Great Depression. It led to the collapse of the PACT government and the National Party won the election.
  • 1938 election

    The war issue was the focus of this election. The majority of white voters agrede participation in the war, leading to Hertzog and his National Party being marginalized.
  • ninth election

    ninth election
    The election that brought the party of Apartheid policies, the Nationalist Party to power.
  • referendum

    referendum
    The referendum that followed the Sharpeville massacre and whose outcome made South Africa a republic
  • decision to co-opt Coloureds and Indians into government

     decision to co-opt Coloureds and Indians into government
    The election that followed the NP government’s decision to co-opt Coloureds and Indians into government, and reforming local government in respect of Africans.
  • first non-racial election

    first non-racial election
    The first non racial democratic elections held in post apartheid South Africa with Nelson Mandela being elected as President.
  • most recent election

    last democratic election to date