One-party dominance in South Africa

Abstract

The story of South African politics over the past 60 years largely concerns the sway exerted by two dominant parties – the National Party (NP) and African National Congress (ANC) – over the life of the country. In both cases opposition parties could entertain only a faint hope of ever defeating the incumbent. Since the NP’s victory in the 1948 election there has been but one change of government, in 1994, when the ANC came to office following the extension of the suffrage to the entire adult population. There were various mechanisms that governed the transfer of power – including an interim constitution and government of national unity – but by 1996 the transition was basically complete. In May that year the Constitutional Assembly adopted a final constitution that removed the requirement for coalition government, and F.W. de Klerk announced his decision to withdraw the NP from government.