1999 Election

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Created by
Ellison Chiswell

Cards (4)

  • ANC won 66.365% (266 out of 400 National Assembly seats), despite dissatisfaction over not addressing all South Africa's problems but solving them all in four years was impossible
  • The NNP won 27 seats (6.87%), the DP 38 (9.555), the IFP 33 (8.59%) and others (total) 8.44%, the ANC formed a coalition with the Indian-led Minority Front (had 1 seat) on June 9, 1999
  • Trade union tensions and the abandonment of socialist policies (GEAR) led to many ANC supporters leaving the party in 1999 as Mandela retired (coalition agreement allowed the ANC to rewrite parts of the Constitution)
  • Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as President on June 16, 1999, following Mandela's retirement but he was less popular because he was more associated with the ANCs exiled leadership - not the internal struggle of the 1980s