1978 South African presidential election
Following the death of State President Nicolaas Diederichs on August 21, 1978, a new election for the South African head of state was held which pitted former Prime Minister John Vorster, backed by the then-ruling National Party, against former United Party leader De Villiers Graaff supported by the New Republic Party, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, Guerino Bozzoli, supported by the Progressive Federal Party.[1] In accordance with the South African Constitution of 1961, the ceremonial State President was elected by a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament for a seven-year term. John Vorster won the election with 173 votes in his favor and 31 going to the other candidates, beginning his term on October 10, 1978.
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Turnout | 92.73% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the election. Vorster (orange) received 173 votes while Graaf received 19 and Bozzoli 12. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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