1992 South African apartheid referendum
The referendum was limited to white South African voters,[1][2] who were asked whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by State President F. W. de Klerk two years earlier, in which he proposed to end the apartheid system that had been implemented since 1948.On 24 January 1992 President de Klerk opened parliament and suggested that a referendum would be held, in which the vote of each race group would be counted separately.Violence was increasing in the South African townships, different right wing groups were becoming more prominent, and there was growing dissatisfaction within the white community.For the purposes of the referendum South Africa was divided into fifteen areas consisting of groups of House of Assembly electoral divisions.Much of de Klerk's efforts in 1992 were directed toward appeasing and weakening his right-wing opponents, the conservative defenders of apartheid who had broken away from the National Party during the 1980s.It warned the white voters that a "No" vote would mean continuation of international sanctions, the danger of civil war and worsening chaos in South Africa.De Klerk told the press that he would interpret a majority "Yes" vote as a mandate to enter into binding agreements with the ANC and other black leaders, without further approval from white voters.The "Yes" campaign had a significant advantage, as it was backed by the government, the opposition Democratic Party, the media, the international community and the vast majority of commercial and business organisations.[1] De Klerk and his government could now claim that the whites were in favour of universal suffrage and that they had a clear mandate to negotiate with the African National Congress.
Apartheid1948 general electionColoured vote constitutional crisis1956 Treason TrialSharpeville massacreRivonia TrialSoweto uprisingChurch Street, Pretoria bombingVaal uprisingCape Town peace marchCODESAAssassination of Chris HaniSaint James Church massacre1994 Bophuthatswana crisisShell House massacreBlack SashConservative PartyFOSATUBroederbondNational PartyCOSATUSecurity BranchState Security CouncilVernon BerrangéP. W. BothaSteve BikoMangosuthu ButheleziF. W. de KlerkRuth FirstBram FischerArthur GoldreichChris HaniBantu HolomisaJoel JoffeAhmed KathradaAlbert LuthuliWinnie Madikizela-MandelaMac MaharajD. F. MalanNelson MandelaGovan MbekiThabo MbekiRaymond MhlabaBenjamin MoloiseAlbertina SisuluWalter SisuluJ. G. StrijdomJoe SlovoRobert SobukweHelen SuzmanAdelaide TamboOliver TamboEugène Terre'BlancheDesmond TutuH. F. VerwoerdB. J. VorsterJacob ZumaBantustanDistrict SixRobben IslandSophiatownSouth-West AfricaSowetoSun CityVlakplaasAfrikaner nationalismApartheid in popular cultureApartheid legislationCape Qualified FranchiseDisinvestment campaignFreedom CharterInternal resistance to apartheidKairos DocumentMusic in the movement against apartheidNostalgia for apartheidProject CoastSullivan PrinciplesSouth Africawhite South AfricanState Presidentapartheid systema large victoryUniversal suffragecountry's first non-racial electionsAfrican National CongressSouth African Communist Partycapital punishmentstate of emergencyVictor Verster PrisonCape TownSouth West AfricaNamibiaby-electionsConvention for a Democratic South AfricaPotchefstroomSouth African townshipsright wingreferendumgeneral electionswhitesCape ProvinceOrange Free StateTransvaalDemocratic PartyHerstigte Nasionale Partyright-wingpower sharingbill of rightsseparation of powersindependent judiciaryAndries Treurnichtself-determinationVolkstaatCenter for Strategic and International StudiesDurbanPretoriaPietersburgNorthern TransvaalKroonstadCape TimesAfrikaner Weerstandsbewegingelectoral fraudAfrikanerfirst non-racial electionsPresident of South Africa1979 Rhodesian constitutional referendum