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1994 Western Cape provincial election

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The 1994 Western Cape provincial election was held between 26 and 29 April 1994 to elect the 1st Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Running concurrently with the 1994 South African general election, the provincial elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.

The National Party won the majority of seats in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Unlike the results across seven of South Africa's provinces, Western Cape was one of the two provinces in which the African National Congress was elected to opposition status, the other being KwaZulu-Natal.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
National Party1,138,24253.2523
African National Congress705,57633.0114
Democratic Party141,9706.643
Freedom Front44,0032.061
African Christian Democratic Party25,7311.201
Pan Africanist Congress22,6761.060
Africa Muslim Party20,9540.980
Islamic Party16,7620.780
Inkatha Freedom Party7,4450.350
Wes-Kaap Federaliste Party6,3370.300
South African Women's Party2,6410.120
Green Party2,6110.120
African Democratic Movement1,9390.090
Workers International to Rebuild the Fourth International8550.040
Total2,137,742100.0042
Valid votes2,137,74299.50
Invalid/blank votes10,7140.50
Total votes2,148,456100.00
Source: Election Resources

Aftermath

The National Party gained the majority of seats in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, with Hernus Kriel, who previously served as the Minister of Law and Order in the South African government under Frederik Willem de Klerk, becoming the first premier of the new province. Kriel served as premier and provincial leader of the National Party until 1998, when he was succeeded by Gerald Morkel, who led the party in the 1999 provincial election.

References