1989 South African general election

General elections were held in South Africa on 6 September 1989, the last under apartheid. The elections were called early (no election was required until 1992) to gauge support for the recently elected head of the National Party (NP), F. W. de Klerk, who was in the process of replacing P. W. Botha as the country's president, and the new leader's program of reform to include further retreat from the policy of apartheid. The advent of the Conservative Party had realigned the NP as the moderate party, expected to initiate negotiations with the Black opposition, with the liberal opposition openly seeking a new settlement.

1989 South African general election

6 September 1989
All 166 elected seats in the House of Assembly All 80 elected seats in the House of Representatives All 40 elected seats in the House of Delegates
Turnout	69.5%
Leader F. W. de Klerk Andries Treurnicht Zach de Beer (pictured), Denis Worrall and Wynand Malan Party National Conservative DP Leader since 1989 1982 1989 Leader's seat Vereeniging Waterberg Did not stand Last election 123 22 20 Seats won 94 39 33 Seat change 29 17 13 Popular vote 1,039,704 680,131 431,444 Percentage 48.2% 31.5% 20.0%
House of Assembly after the 1989 election
Acting State President before election F. W. de Klerk National State President F. W. de Klerk National

Although it won an absolute majority, the National Party suffered an electoral setback and received only 48% of the popular vote, winning 94 of the 166 directly-elected seats in the House of Assembly. It was the first election since 1961 when it failed to win a majority of the (white) popular vote. However, the first-past-the-post voting system and a deeply fractured opposition allowed it to comfortably remain in power. Another 12 MPs were appointed by the State President and the 166 elected members, further entrenching the NP's majority.

The Conservative Party (CP), which opposed any form of power-sharing with other races, failed to accomplish a breakthrough but remained the official opposition with 39 seats. By some estimates, the party had received the backing of a slim majority of Afrikaner voters in parts of the country, once the NP's core constituency, but with very little support among English-speaking whites.[1]

Before the elections, the liberal Progressive Federal Party (PFP) had dissolved itself and regrouped as the Democratic Party (DP), winning 33 seats, six seats short of regaining its position as the official opoposition.

House of Assembly (White)

The White Chamber of Parliament had 178 members, 166 of whom were directly elected (including a seat from Walvis Bay, which was added in 1981) with 8 members indirectly elected by the directly elected members on the basis of proportional representation and 4 nominated by the State President (one from each province).[2]

The results of the election were interpreted by the government (based on support for the NP and the DP together) as a mandate from the white electorate to forsake the apartheid system and seek a compromise with the African National Congress and its leader Nelson Mandela.

Of the 12 appointed and indirectly-elected seats, nine were taken by the National Party, two by the Conservative Party and one by the Democratic Party.[3]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	National Party	1,039,704	48.19	94	−29
	Conservative Party	680,131	31.52	39	+17
	Democratic Party	431,444	20.00	33	+13
	Herstigte Nasionale Party	5,416	0.25	0	0
	Independents	898	0.04	0	–1
Presidential appointees				4	0
Indirectly-elected members				8	0
Total		2,157,593	100.00	178	0
Valid votes		2,157,593	99.52
Invalid/blank votes		10,336	0.48
Total votes		2,167,929	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,120,104	69.48
Source: Nohlen et al.[4]

House of Representatives (Coloured)

All five appointed and indirectly-elected seats were taken by the Labour Party.[2]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	171,930	66.59	69	–7
	Democratic Reform Party	39,741	15.39	5	New
	United Democratic Party	19,861	7.69	3	New
	Freedom Party	1,949	0.75	1	0
	Independents	24,705	9.57	2	+1
Presidential appointees				2	New
Indirectly-elected members				3	New
Total		258,186	100.00	85	+5
Valid votes		258,186	98.90
Invalid/blank votes		2,861	1.10
Total votes		261,047	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,439,112	18.14
Source: Nohlen et al.[4]

House of Delegates (Indian)

Of the five appointed and indirectly-elected seats, three were taken by Solidarity, one by the National People’s Party and one by the Merit People's Party.[2]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Solidarity	58,216	38.02	16	–1
	National People's Party	38,523	25.16	8	–10
	Democratic Party	10,427	6.81	3	New
	National Federal Party	8,058	5.26	1	+1
	People's Party of South Africa	6,064	3.96	1	New
	United Party	2,712	1.77	0	New
	Merit People's Party	2,078	1.36	3	New
	Progressive Independent Party	1,497	0.98	0	–1
	Freedom Party	703	0.46	2	New
	Republican Party	701	0.46	0	New
	Independents	24,157	15.77	6	+2
Presidential appointees				2	New
Indirectly-elected members				3	New
Total		153,136	100.00	45	0
Valid votes		153,136	99.10
Invalid/blank votes		1,388	0.90
Total votes		154,524	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		663,604	23.29
Source: Nohlen et al.[4]

References

1. The Star, 24 May 1987
2. 1981 House of Assembly Election African Elections Database
3. South Africa: Parliamentary Chamber: House of Assembly: Elections held in 1989 Inter-Parliamentary Union
4. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp832–837 ISBN 0-19-829645-2