South African General Election of 1994

The first universal-suffrage election gave the ANC 62.6 percent and Mandela the presidency.

Overview

From April 26 to 29, 1994, after decades of apartheid and 350 years of racial exclusion, South Africans of all races voted together for the first time. Nineteen million ballots, an 86 percent turnout, gave the African National Congress 62.6 percent, just short of the two-thirds needed alone to write the constitution, with the National Party's 20.4 percent earning F.W. de Klerk a deputy presidency in government of national unity. Nelson Mandela was sworn in May 10. The election, certified despite bombing attempts, is celebrated as a miracle transition and Freedom Day holiday.