The
1992 referendum was held in
South Africa on 17 March of that year. In it, white South Africans were asked to vote in the country's last whites-only referendum to determine 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 that had been started in 1948. The result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side, which ultimately resulted in apartheid being lifted.
Background
On February 2, 1990, in his opening address to parliament,
State President F.W. de Klerk announced that the ban on different political parties such as the
African National Congress and the
South African Communist Party would be lifted and that
Nelson Mandela would be released after 27 years in prison. F.W. de Klerk announced that
capital punishment would be suspended and that the
state of emergency would be lifted. The State President said in his speech to parliament that "the time to negotiate has arrived".
Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990 from
Victor Verster Prison in
Paarl near
Cape Town. On March 21, 1990,
South West Africa became independent under the name of
Namibia. In May the government began talks with the ANC. In June the state of emergency was lifted and the ANC had agreed to a ceasefire. In 1991, the Acts which restricted land ownership, specified separate living areas and classified people by race were......
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