Apartheid

=== 1994 election ===
[[File:Flag of South Africa.svg|thumb|The new multicoloured [[flag of South Africa]] adopted in 1994 to mark the end of Apartheid]]

{{Main|1994 South African general election}}
The election was held on 27 April 1994 and went off peacefully throughout the country as 20 million South Africans cast their votes. There was some difficulty in organising the voting in rural areas, but people waited patiently for many hours to vote amidst a palpable feeling of goodwill. An extra day was added to give everyone the chance. International observers agreed that the elections were free and fair.<ref>Deegan, Heather (2001). ''The politics of the new South Africa: apartheid and after.'' Pearson Education. p. 194. {{ISBN|978-0-582-38227-5}}.</ref> The [[European Union]]'s report on the election compiled at the end of May 1994, published two years after the election, criticised the [[Independent Electoral Commission (South Africa)|Independent Electoral Commission]]'s lack of preparedness for the polls, the shortages of voting materials at many voting stations, and the absence of effective safeguards against [[Electoral fraud|fraud]] in the counting process. In particular, it expressed disquiet that "no international observers had been allowed to be present at the crucial stage of the count when party representatives negotiated over disputed ballots." This meant that both the electorate and the world were "simply left to guess at the way the final result was achieved."<ref name=Jeffery>Jeffery, A. ''People's War: New Light on the Struggle for South Africa''. Jonathan Ball.</ref>

The ANC won 62.65% of the vote,<ref name=IEC-1994-results>{{cite web |url=http://www.elections.org.za/Elections94.asp |title=Elections '94 |access-date=13 July 2008 |publisher=Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080628132254/http://www.elections.org.za/Elections94.asp |archive-date=28 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="fairvote-rsa1994">{{cite web|url=http://www.fairvote.org/?page=554|title=Spotlight Three: South Africa's 1994 Elections|access-date=13 July 2008|first=Arend|last=Lijphart|publisher=FairVote|archive-date=26 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026035210/http://www.fairvote.org/?page=554|url-status=live}}</ref> less than the 66.7 percent that would have allowed it to rewrite the constitution. 252 of the 400 seats went to members of the African National Congress. The NP captured most of the White and Coloured votes and became the official [[Opposition (politics)|opposition party]]. As well as deciding the national government, the election decided the [[Provincial governments of South Africa|provincial governments]], and the ANC won in seven of the nine provinces, with the NP winning in the [[Western Cape]] and the IFP in [[KwaZulu-Natal]]. On 10 May 1994, Mandela was sworn in as the new President of South Africa. The [[Government of National Unity (South Africa)|Government of National Unity]] was established, its cabinet made up of 12 ANC representatives, six from the NP, and three from the IFP. [[Thabo Mbeki]] and de Klerk were made [[Deputy President of South Africa|deputy presidents]].

The anniversary of the elections, 27 April, is celebrated as a [[public holidays in South Africa|public holiday]] known as [[Freedom Day (South Africa)|Freedom Day]].