CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>1981 South African general election - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"0b7dc5ef-6e07-4bbc-974f-e7f6f2d12201","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"1981_South_African_general_election","wgTitle":"1981 South African general election","wgCurRevisionId":1234913181,"wgRevisionId":1234913181,"wgArticleId":4148648,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description with empty Wikidata description","EngvarB from July 2016","Use dmy dates from July 2016","Election and referendum articles with incomplete results","General elections in South Africa","1981 elections in South Africa","Events associated with apartheid","April 1981 events in Africa"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName": "1981_South_African_general_election","wgRelevantArticleId":4148648,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":8000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q2391250","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness", "fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.tablesorter.styles":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","ext.scribunto.logs","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.tablesorter","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP", "ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cjquery.tablesorter.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/1200px-South_Africa_election_1981.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1052"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/800px-South_Africa_election_1981.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="701"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/640px-South_Africa_election_1981.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="561"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="1981 South African general election - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_South_African_general_election"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_South_African_general_election"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-1981_South_African_general_election rootpage-1981_South_African_general_election skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=1981+South+African+general+election" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=1981+South+African+general+election" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=1981+South+African+general+election" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=1981+South+African+general+election" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Background" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Background"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Background</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Background-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Results" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Results"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Results</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Results-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Results subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Results-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-By_province" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#By_province"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>By province</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-By_province-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 South African general election</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 6 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-6" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">6 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suid-Afrikaanse_algemene_verkiesing_van_1981" title="Suid-Afrikaanse algemene verkiesing van 1981 – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Suid-Afrikaanse algemene verkiesing van 1981" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlamentswahl_in_S%C3%BCdafrika_1981" title="Parlamentswahl in Südafrika 1981 – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Parlamentswahl in Südafrika 1981" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lections_g%C3%A9n%C3%A9rales_sud-africaines_de_1981" title="Élections générales sud-africaines de 1981 – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Élections générales sud-africaines de 1981" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981-es_d%C3%A9l-afrikai_%C3%A1ltal%C3%A1nos_v%C3%A1laszt%C3%A1s" title="1981-es dél-afrikai általános választás – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="1981-es dél-afrikai általános választás" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuid-Afrikaanse_parlementsverkiezingen_1981" title="Zuid-Afrikaanse parlementsverkiezingen 1981 – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Zuid-Afrikaanse parlementsverkiezingen 1981" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B_%D0%B2_%D0%AE%D0%90%D0%A0_(1981)" title="Парламентские выборы в ЮАР (1981) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Парламентские выборы в ЮАР (1981)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q2391250#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1981_South_African_general_election" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:1981_South_African_general_election" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1981_South_African_general_election"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/1981_South_African_general_election"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/1981_South_African_general_election" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/1981_South_African_general_election" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&oldid=1234913181" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=1981_South_African_general_election&id=1234913181&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F1981_South_African_general_election"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F1981_South_African_general_election"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=1981_South_African_general_election&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q2391250" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1247979735">.mw-parser-output .ib-election{line-height:1.5em}.mw-parser-output .ib-election .infobox-data{text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ib-election .infobox-label{width:5em;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .ib-election .infobox-subheader{line-height:130%}.mw-parser-output .ib-election .infobox-header{font-weight:normal}@media(max-width:640px){body.skin--responsive:not(.skin-monobook):not(.skin-timeless) .mw-parser-output .ib-election .notpageimage.noresize img{height:80px!important;width:auto!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ib-election .mw-file-description img{background-color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ib-election .mw-file-description img{background-color:#f8f9fa}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1152813436">.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap}</style><table class="infobox ib-election infobox-table vevent" style="width:300px"><caption class="infobox-title summary">1981 South African general election</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg/50px-Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="33" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg/75px-Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg/100px-Flag_of_South_Africa_%281928-1982%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span></span><hr /></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-subheader"><table style="width:100%; margin:1px; display:inline-table;"><tbody><tr> <td style="text-align:left; vertical-align:middle; padding:0 0.5em 0 0;width:20%;" class="noprint">← <a href="/wiki/1977_South_African_general_election" title="1977 South African general election">1977</a></td> <td style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;; padding:0 1px;width:60%;" class=""><b>29 April 1981</b></td> <td style="text-align:right; vertical-align:middle;; padding:0 0 0 0.5em;width:20%;" class="noprint"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/1984_South_African_general_election" title="1984 South African general election">1984 (HoR, HoD)</a> →</span><br /><a href="/wiki/1987_South_African_general_election" title="1987 South African general election">1987 (HoA)</a> →</td> </tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header"><hr />165 of the 177 seats in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Assembly_(South_Africa)" title="House of Assembly (South Africa)">House of Assembly</a><br />83 seats needed for a majority</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Registered</th><td class="infobox-data">2,290,626</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Turnout</th><td class="infobox-data">59.90% (<span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 11.38pp)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"> <table style="background:transparent; color: inherit; width:100%;"> <tbody><tr class="sr-only"> <th style="text-align:left;">  </th> <th style="text-align:center">First party </th> <th style="text-align:center">Second party </th> <th style="text-align:center">Third party </th></tr> <tr> <td>  </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #FF9933;"><span class="notpageimage noresize" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:PW_Botha_1962.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/PW_Botha_1962.jpg/97px-PW_Botha_1962.jpg" decoding="async" width="97" height="130" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/PW_Botha_1962.jpg/146px-PW_Botha_1962.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/PW_Botha_1962.jpg/195px-PW_Botha_1962.jpg 2x" data-file-width="460" data-file-height="613" /></a></span> </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #005BA6;"><div style="width:95px;"><span style="line-height:130px; vertical-align:center; text-align:center; color:#005BA6; font-size:35px;"> <b>PFP</b></span></div> </td> <td class="notheme" style="text-align:center;border-bottom: 6px solid #FDB813;"><div style="width:95px;"><span style="line-height:130px; vertical-align:center; text-align:center; color:#FDB813; font-size:35px;"> <b>NRP</b></span></div> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Leader </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/P._W._Botha" title="P. W. Botha">P. W. Botha</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Frederik_van_Zyl_Slabbert" title="Frederik van Zyl Slabbert">Frederik van Zyl Slabbert</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Vause_Raw" title="Vause Raw">Vause Raw</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="width:75px;text-align:left">Party </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)" title="National Party (South Africa)">National</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/Progressive_Federal_Party" title="Progressive Federal Party">Progressive</a> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><a href="/wiki/New_Republic_Party_(South_Africa)" title="New Republic Party (South Africa)">New Republic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Last election </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">65.34%, 134 seats </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">16.95%, 17 seats </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">12.15%, 10 seats </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Seats won </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>131</b> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">26 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">8 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Seat change </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 3 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 9 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 2 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Popular vote </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>778,371</b> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">265,297 </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">93,603 </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Percentage </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><b>57.66%</b> </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">19.65% </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center">6.93% </td></tr> <tr> <th style="text-align:left">Swing </th> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 7.68pp </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Increase"><img alt="Increase" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/11px-Increase2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/17px-Increase2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Increase2.svg/22px-Increase2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 2.70pp </td> <td style="width:75px;text-align:center"><span typeof="mw:File"><span title="Decrease"><img alt="Decrease" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/11px-Decrease2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="11" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/17px-Decrease2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Decrease2.svg/22px-Decrease2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="300" data-file-height="300" /></span></span> 5.22pp </td></tr> </tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><hr /><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:South_Africa_election_1981.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/300px-South_Africa_election_1981.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="263" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/450px-South_Africa_election_1981.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/South_Africa_election_1981.png/600px-South_Africa_election_1981.png 2x" data-file-width="2337" data-file-height="2048" /></a></span><div>Results by province</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><hr /> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="background:transparent; color: inherit; width:100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width:50%; text-align:left;"><b>Prime Minister before election</b><br /> <p><a href="/wiki/P._W._Botha" title="P. W. Botha">P. W. Botha</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)" title="National Party (South Africa)">National</a> </p> </td> <td style="width:50%; text-align:right;"><b>Elected Prime Minister</b> <br /> <p><a href="/wiki/P._W._Botha" title="P. W. Botha">P. W. Botha</a><br /> <a href="/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)" title="National Party (South Africa)">National</a> </p> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1246091330">.mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:22em;float:right;clear:right;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.2em;text-align:center;line-height:1.4em;font-size:88%;border-collapse:collapse;display:table}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:table!important;float:right!important;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em!important}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-subgroup{width:100%;margin:0;border-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-none{float:none;clear:both;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-outer-title{padding:0 0.4em 0.2em;font-size:125%;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-image{padding:0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-caption,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-caption{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle{padding:0.4em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.2em 0.8em;font-size:145%;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-image{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-heading{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content{padding:0 0.5em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding:0.1em 0.4em 0.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-below{padding:0.3em 0.8em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-below{border-top:1px solid #aaa;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-navbar{text-align:right;font-size:115%;padding:0 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6em;font-size:105%}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title-c{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:center;margin:0 3.3em}@media(max-width:640px){body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks vcard hlist" style="width:19.0em;"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle"><b><span style="color:var(--color-emphasized, black);">This article is part of a series on the</span></b></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="background:#007A4D; border: 1px double #8C959A; border-bottom: 10px solid #FFB612;"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_South_Africa" title="Politics of South Africa"><span style="color:#FFFFFF;"><small>Politics of</small><br />South Africa</span></a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><figure class="mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_(heraldic).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg/90px-Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="90" height="115" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg/135px-Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg/180px-Coat_of_arms_of_South_Africa_%28heraldic%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1117" data-file-height="1432" /></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_South_Africa" title="Constitution of South Africa">Constitution</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chapter_Two_of_the_Constitution_of_South_Africa" title="Chapter Two of the Constitution of South Africa">Bill of Rights</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Government_of_South_Africa" title="Government of South Africa">Executive</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/President_of_South_Africa" title="President of South Africa">President</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Cyril_Ramaphosa" title="Cyril Ramaphosa">Cyril Ramaphosa</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deputy_President_of_South_Africa" title="Deputy President of South Africa">Deputy President</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Paul_Mashatile" title="Paul Mashatile">Paul Mashatile</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_South_Africa" title="Cabinet of South Africa">Cabinet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Departments_of_the_Government_of_South_Africa" title="Departments of the Government of South Africa">Departments</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Official_Opposition_Shadow_Cabinet_(South_Africa)" title="Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (South Africa)">Shadow Cabinet</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_South_Africa" title="Parliament of South Africa">Legislature</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/National_Council_of_Provinces" title="National Council of Provinces">National Council of Provinces</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/National_Council_of_Provinces#Chairpersons" title="National Council of Provinces">Chairperson</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Refilwe_Mtsweni-Tsipane" title="Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane">Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane</a></dd></dl></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Assembly_of_South_Africa" title="National Assembly of South Africa">National Assembly</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_National_Assembly_of_South_Africa" title="Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa">Speaker</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Thoko_Didiza" title="Thoko Didiza">Thoko Didiza</a></dd></dl></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(South_Africa)" title="Leader of the Opposition (South Africa)">Leader of the Opposition</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/John_Hlophe" title="John Hlophe">John Hlophe</a></dd></dl></dd></dl></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Judiciary_of_South_Africa" title="Judiciary of South Africa">Judiciary</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chief_Justice_of_South_Africa" title="Chief Justice of South Africa">Chief Justice</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Ray_Zondo" class="mw-redirect" title="Ray Zondo">Ray Zondo</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Chief_Justice_of_South_Africa" title="Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa">Deputy Chief Justice</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Mandisa_Maya" title="Mandisa Maya">Mandisa Maya</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courts_of_South_Africa" title="Courts of South Africa">Courts</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Constitutional_Court_of_South_Africa" title="Constitutional Court of South Africa">Constitutional Court</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Appeal_of_South_Africa" class="mw-redirect" title="Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa">Supreme Court of Appeal</a> <dl><dd>President: <a href="/wiki/Mahube_Molemela" title="Mahube Molemela">Mahube Molemela</a></dd></dl></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_South_Africa" title="High Court of South Africa">High Court</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Magistrate%27s_court_(South_Africa)" title="Magistrate's court (South Africa)">Magistrate's courts</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Electoral_Court_of_South_Africa" title="Electoral Court of South Africa">Electoral Court</a></dd></dl></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_South_Africa" title="Elections in South Africa">Elections</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li>General <dl><dd><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/1910_South_African_general_election" title="1910 South African general election">1910</a> <a href="/wiki/1915_South_African_general_election" title="1915 South African general election">1915</a> <a href="/wiki/1920_South_African_general_election" title="1920 South African general election">1920</a> <a href="/wiki/1921_South_African_general_election" title="1921 South African general election">1921</a> <a href="/wiki/1924_South_African_general_election" title="1924 South African general election">1924</a> <a href="/wiki/1929_South_African_general_election" title="1929 South African general election">1929</a> <a href="/wiki/1933_South_African_general_election" title="1933 South African general election">1933</a> <a href="/wiki/1938_South_African_general_election" title="1938 South African general election">1938</a> <a href="/wiki/1943_South_African_general_election" title="1943 South African general election">1943</a> <a href="/wiki/1948_South_African_general_election" title="1948 South African general election">1948</a> <a href="/wiki/1953_South_African_general_election" title="1953 South African general election">1953</a> <a href="/wiki/1958_South_African_general_election" title="1958 South African general election">1958</a> <a href="/wiki/1961_South_African_general_election" title="1961 South African general election">1961</a> <a href="/wiki/1966_South_African_general_election" title="1966 South African general election">1966</a> <a href="/wiki/1970_South_African_general_election" title="1970 South African general election">1970</a> <a href="/wiki/1974_South_African_general_election" title="1974 South African general election">1974</a> <a href="/wiki/1977_South_African_general_election" title="1977 South African general election">1977</a> <a class="mw-selflink selflink">1981</a> <a href="/wiki/1984_South_African_general_election" title="1984 South African general election">1984</a> <a href="/wiki/1987_South_African_general_election" title="1987 South African general election">1987</a> <a href="/wiki/1989_South_African_general_election" title="1989 South African general election">1989</a> <a href="/wiki/1994_South_African_general_election" title="1994 South African general election">1994</a> <a href="/wiki/1999_South_African_general_election" title="1999 South African general election">1999</a> <a href="/wiki/2004_South_African_general_election" title="2004 South African general election">2004</a> <a href="/wiki/2009_South_African_general_election" title="2009 South African general election">2009</a> <a href="/wiki/2014_South_African_general_election" title="2014 South African general election">2014</a> <a href="/wiki/2019_South_African_general_election" title="2019 South African general election">2019</a> <a href="/wiki/2024_South_African_general_election" title="2024 South African general election">2024</a></span></div></dd></dl></li> <li>Municipal <dl><dd><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/2000_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2000 South African municipal elections">2000</a> <a href="/wiki/2006_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2006 South African municipal elections">2006</a> <a href="/wiki/2011_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2011 South African municipal elections">2011</a> <a href="/wiki/2016_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2016 South African municipal elections">2016</a> <a href="/wiki/2021_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2021 South African municipal elections">2021</a></span></div></dd></dl></li> <li>Referendums <dl><dd><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/1960_South_African_republic_referendum" title="1960 South African republic referendum">1960</a> <a href="/wiki/1983_South_African_constitutional_reform_referendum" class="mw-redirect" title="1983 South African constitutional reform referendum">1983</a> <a href="/wiki/1992_South_African_apartheid_referendum" title="1992 South African apartheid referendum">1992</a></span></div></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_South_Africa" title="List of political parties in South Africa">Political parties</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_South_Africa" title="Administrative divisions of South Africa">Administrative divisions</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Provinces_of_South_Africa" title="Provinces of South Africa">Provinces</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_South_Africa" title="Districts of South Africa">Districts</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_municipality_(South_Africa)" title="Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)">Metropolitan municipality</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/District_municipality_(South_Africa)" class="mw-redirect" title="District municipality (South Africa)">District municipality</a></dd></dl></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Municipalities_of_South_Africa" title="Municipalities of South Africa">Municipalities</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_South_African_municipalities" class="mw-redirect" title="List of South African municipalities">list</a>)</li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_South_Africa" title="Foreign relations of South Africa">Foreign relations</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Department_of_International_Relations_and_Cooperation" title="Department of International Relations and Cooperation">Department of International Relations and Cooperation</a> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Minister_of_International_Relations_and_Cooperation" title="Minister of International Relations and Cooperation">Minister</a>: <a href="/wiki/Naledi_Pandor" title="Naledi Pandor">Naledi Pandor</a></dd></dl></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_South_Africa" title="List of diplomatic missions of South Africa">Diplomatic missions of</a> / <a href="/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in_South_Africa" title="List of diplomatic missions in South Africa">in South Africa</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/South_African_nationality_law" title="South African nationality law">Nationality law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_African_passport" title="South African passport">Passport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_South_African_citizens" title="Visa requirements for South African citizens">Visa requirements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Visa_policy_of_South_Africa" title="Visa policy of South Africa">Visa policy</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed plainlist"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Related topics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;;text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_South_Africa" title="Human rights in South Africa">Human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_debt_of_South_Africa" class="mw-redirect" title="National debt of South Africa">National debt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_assassinations_in_post-apartheid_South_Africa" title="Political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa">Political assassinations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Protests_in_South_Africa" title="Protests in South Africa">Protests</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_repression_in_post-apartheid_South_Africa" title="Political repression in post-apartheid South Africa">Repression</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_welfare_programmes_in_South_Africa" title="Social welfare programmes in South Africa">Social Welfare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taxation_in_South_Africa" title="Taxation in South Africa">Taxation</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed plainlist"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Provincial politics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:center;;text-align:center;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Eastern_Cape" title="Politics of the Eastern Cape">Politics of the Eastern Cape</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Free_State" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of the Free State">Politics of the Free State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Gauteng" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of Gauteng">Politics of Gauteng</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_KwaZulu-Natal" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of KwaZulu-Natal">Politics of KwaZulu-Natal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Limpopo" title="Politics of Limpopo">Politics of Limpopo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Mpumalanga" title="Politics of Mpumalanga">Politics of Mpumalanga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Northern_Cape" title="Politics of the Northern Cape">Politics of the Northern Cape</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_North_West_(South_African_province)" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of North West (South African province)">Politics of North West</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Western_Cape" title="Politics of the Western Cape">Politics of the Western Cape</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/32px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png" decoding="async" width="32" height="21" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/48px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/64px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:South_Africa" title="Portal:South Africa">South Africa portal</a> <div class="hlist" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_political_science#Politics_by_region" title="Outline of political science">Other countries</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_South_Africa" title="Template:Politics of South Africa"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_South_Africa" title="Template talk:Politics of South Africa"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Politics_of_South_Africa" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Politics of South Africa"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>General elections were held in <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> on 29 April 1981. The <a href="/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)" title="National Party (South Africa)">National Party</a>, under the leadership of <a href="/wiki/P._W._Botha" title="P. W. Botha">P. W. Botha</a> since 1978, lost some support, but achieved another <a href="/wiki/Landslide_victory" title="Landslide victory">landslide victory</a>, winning 131 of 165 directly elected seats in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Assembly_(South_Africa)" title="House of Assembly (South Africa)">House of Assembly</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-IPU_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IPU-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Meanwhile, the <a href="/wiki/Progressive_Federal_Party" title="Progressive Federal Party">Progressive Federal Party</a> – led since 1979 by <a href="/wiki/Frederik_van_Zyl_Slabbert" title="Frederik van Zyl Slabbert">Frederik van Zyl Slabbert</a>, an <a href="/wiki/Afrikaner" class="mw-redirect" title="Afrikaner">Afrikaner</a> – increased its representation to 26 seats, thereby consolidating its position as the <a href="/wiki/Official_opposition" class="mw-redirect" title="Official opposition">official opposition</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Herstigte_Nasionale_Party" title="Herstigte Nasionale Party">Herstigte Nasionale Party</a> (HNP) now under the leadership of <a href="/wiki/Jaap_Marais" title="Jaap Marais">Jaap Marais</a> and representing right-wing <a href="/wiki/Afrikaner" class="mw-redirect" title="Afrikaner">Afrikaner</a> conservatives, received 14.1% of the vote. The HNP's tally marked a historic result; twice that of the former official opposition NRP, and within a touching distance of the liberal PFP, but failed to win a seat under the <a href="/wiki/First-past-the-post" class="mw-redirect" title="First-past-the-post">first-past-the-post</a> system due to splitting its voter base with the NP in more liberal areas and being decisively defeated in the Afrikaner heartlands.<sup id="cite_ref-IPU_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IPU-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1985, under the same parliament, HNP candidate Louis Stofberg managed a win in a by-election for <a href="/wiki/Sasolburg" title="Sasolburg">Sasolburg</a>, but the success was soon overrun by the <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(South_Africa)" title="Conservative Party (South Africa)">Conservative Party</a> under NP renegade <a href="/wiki/Andries_Treurnicht" title="Andries Treurnicht">Andries Treurnicht</a>. </p><p>Despite divisions among the opposition, the NP lost three seats compared to its record <a href="/wiki/1977_South_African_general_election" title="1977 South African general election">1977 result</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The 1981 elections were the first since the abolition of the <a href="/wiki/Senate_of_South_Africa" title="Senate of South Africa">Senate</a> and ongoing constitutional changes meant to bring in a more <a href="/wiki/Presidentialism" class="mw-redirect" title="Presidentialism">presidential</a> system. The House of Assembly had become the <a href="/wiki/Unicameralism" title="Unicameralism">sole chamber</a> of <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_South_Africa" title="Parliament of South Africa">Parliament</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The elections were also the last to be held under the then <a href="/wiki/South_African_Constitution_of_1961" title="South African Constitution of 1961">1961 constitution</a>, under which South Africa had become a republic, while retaining a <a href="/wiki/Westminster_system" title="Westminster system">Westminster-style</a> parliamentary system. In foreign policy, the <a href="/wiki/Lancaster_House_Agreement" title="Lancaster House Agreement">Lancaster House Agreement</a> and the shift to <a href="/wiki/NIBMA" class="mw-redirect" title="NIBMA">black majority rule</a> and a <a href="/wiki/ZANU%E2%80%93PF" title="ZANU–PF">ZANU–PF</a> government in newly independent <a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> the preceding year, was likely to have affected the results, including boost for the HNP and increased white wariness of the government's policy. The <a href="/wiki/Angolan_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Angolan War">Angolan War</a> and <a href="/wiki/South_African_Border_War" title="South African Border War">Border Wars</a> had also raged on without obvious results, with a South Africa-backed <a href="/wiki/UNITA" title="UNITA">UNITA</a> in fierce opposition to the government of the <a href="/wiki/MPLA" title="MPLA">MPLA</a> in Luanda. Exceeding costs, and failure to accomplish strategic goals would have alienated both liberal and more hawkish voters dissatisfied with developments in a continent which, a decade earlier, South Africa would have dominated militarily. The 1976 <a href="/wiki/Soweto_uprising" title="Soweto uprising">Soweto uprising</a> and following sanctions and boycotts still affected the South African economy, causing stagnant wages, unemployment and psychological alienation driving increased voter dissatisfaction. </p><p>Although technically a Westminster system, Botha's initial reforms of the House of Assembly now included twelve additional members, four of whom were appointed by the <a href="/wiki/State_President_of_South_Africa" title="State President of South Africa">State President</a> and eight were indirectly elected by the directly elected members.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These reforms secured the NP's existing majority, which became even more important with the planned introduction of the <a href="/wiki/Tricameral_Parliament" title="Tricameral Parliament">Tricameral Parliament</a> in 1984, with the NP's majority role becoming more fragile with the introduction of Coloured and Indian representatives, albeit in different chambers. The elected additional members were chosen by means of proportional representation, by means of the <a href="/wiki/Single_transferable_vote" title="Single transferable vote">single transferable vote</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-IPU_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IPU-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Results">Results</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Results"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Of the twelve appointed and indirectly elected members, 11 were National Party representatives and one was from the <a href="/wiki/Progressive_Federal_Party" title="Progressive Federal Party">Progressive Federal Party</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-IPU_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IPU-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable sortable"><caption></caption><tbody><tr><th colspan="6" style="text-align:center;color:black;background:#F8F9FA"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg/360px-South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg.png" decoding="async" width="360" height="185" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg/540px-South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg/720px-South_African_House_of_Assembly_1981.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></th></tr><tr><th scope="col" colspan="2">Party</th><th scope="col">Votes</th><th scope="col">%</th><th scope="col">Seats</th><th scope="col">+/–</th></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#FF9933"></td><td><a href="/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)" title="National Party (South Africa)">National Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">778,371</td><td style="text-align:right">57.66</td><td style="text-align:right">131</td><td style="text-align:right">–3</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#005BA6"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Progressive_Federal_Party" title="Progressive Federal Party">Progressive Federal Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">265,297</td><td style="text-align:right">19.65</td><td style="text-align:right">26</td><td style="text-align:right">+9</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#FF1600"></td><td><a href="/wiki/Herstigte_Nasionale_Party" title="Herstigte Nasionale Party">Herstigte Nasionale Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">191,249</td><td style="text-align:right">14.17</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#FDB813"></td><td><a href="/wiki/New_Republic_Party_(South_Africa)" title="New Republic Party (South Africa)">New Republic Party</a></td><td style="text-align:right">93,603</td><td style="text-align:right">6.93</td><td style="text-align:right">8</td><td style="text-align:right">–2</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#008000"></td><td>National Conservative Party</td><td style="text-align:right">19,149</td><td style="text-align:right">1.42</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">New</td></tr><tr><td style="width:0px;background-color:#DCDCDC"></td><td>Other parties and independents</td><td style="text-align:right">2,264</td><td style="text-align:right">0.17</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td><td style="text-align:right">0</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">Presidential appointees</td><td colspan="2"></td><td style="text-align:right">4</td><td style="text-align:right">New</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">Indirectly-elected members</td><td colspan="2"></td><td style="text-align:right">8</td><td style="text-align:right">New</td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold"><td colspan="2">Total</td><td style="text-align:right">1,349,933</td><td style="text-align:right">100.00</td><td style="text-align:right">177</td><td style="text-align:right">+12</td></tr><tr class="sortbottom"><td colspan="6" style="color:black;background:#eaecf0"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Valid votes</th><td>1,349,933</td><td>98.39</td><td colspan="2"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Invalid/blank votes</th><td>22,086</td><td>1.61</td><td colspan="2"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold;text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;background:inherit;color:inherit">Total votes</th><td>1,372,019</td><td>100.00</td><td colspan="2"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><th scope="row" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;font-weight:normal;color:inherit;background:inherit">Registered voters/turnout</th><td>2,290,626</td><td>59.90</td><td colspan="2"></td></tr><tr class="sortbottom" style="text-align:right"><td colspan="6" style="text-align:left">Source: Nohlen <i>et al.</i><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="By_province">By province</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: By province"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"> <tbody><tr> <th>Province </th> <th>National </th> <th>New Republic </th> <th>Progressive </th> <th>Total </th></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Transvaal_Province" class="mw-redirect" title="Transvaal Province">Transvaal</a></td> <td><b>67</b></td> <td>0</td> <td>9</td> <td>76 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Cape_Province" title="Cape Province">Cape</a></td> <td><b>43</b></td> <td>1</td> <td>11</td> <td>55 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Natal_Province" class="mw-redirect" title="Natal Province">Natal</a></td> <td>7</td> <td>7</td> <td>6</td> <td>20 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><a href="/wiki/Orange_Free_State_(province)" title="Orange Free State (province)">Orange Free State</a></td> <td><b>14</b></td> <td>0</td> <td>0</td> <td>14 </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left"><b>Total</b></td> <td><b>131</b></td> <td><b>8</b></td> <td><b>26</b></td> <td><b>165</b> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/18th_South_African_Parliament" title="18th South African Parliament">18th South African Parliament</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-IPU-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-IPU_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IPU_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IPU_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IPU_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/SOUTH_AFRICA_1981_E.PDF">SOUTH AFRICA Date of Elections: 29 April 1981</a> <a href="/wiki/International_Parliamentary_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="International Parliamentary Union">International Parliamentary Union</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=n1MNAQAAIAAJ&q=Senate+%22South+Africa%22+abolished+1981"><i>Parliaments of South Africa</i></a>, J.J.L Cloete, J.L. van Schaik, 1985, page 62</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=4ksuAQAAIAAJ&q=%22House+of+Assembly%22+%22South+Africa%22+%22additional+members%22+1981"><i>The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa</i></a>, Volume 13, Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law, University of South Africa, 1981, page 354</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Dieter_Nohlen" title="Dieter Nohlen">Dieter Nohlen</a>, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) <i>Elections in Africa: A data handbook</i>, pp832–836 <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-829645-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-19-829645-2">0-19-829645-2</a></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="23x15px&#124;border_&#124;alt=South_Africa&#124;link=South_Africa_Elections_and_referendums_in_South_Africa" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:South_African_elections" title="Template:South African elections"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:South_African_elections" title="Template talk:South African elections"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:South_African_elections" title="Special:EditPage/Template:South African elections"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="23x15px&#124;border_&#124;alt=South_Africa&#124;link=South_Africa_Elections_and_referendums_in_South_Africa" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa"><img alt="South Africa" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/23px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/35px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Flag_of_South_Africa.svg/45px-Flag_of_South_Africa.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Elections_in_South_Africa" title="Elections in South Africa">Elections and referendums in South Africa</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/National_Assembly_of_South_Africa" title="National Assembly of South Africa">General elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1910_South_African_general_election" title="1910 South African general election">1910</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1915_South_African_general_election" title="1915 South African general election">1915</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1920_South_African_general_election" title="1920 South African general election">1920</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1921_South_African_general_election" title="1921 South African general election">1921</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1924_South_African_general_election" title="1924 South African general election">1924</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1929_South_African_general_election" title="1929 South African general election">1929</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1933_South_African_general_election" title="1933 South African general election">1933</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1938_South_African_general_election" title="1938 South African general election">1938</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1943_South_African_general_election" title="1943 South African general election">1943</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1948_South_African_general_election" title="1948 South African general election">1948</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1953_South_African_general_election" title="1953 South African general election">1953</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1958_South_African_general_election" title="1958 South African general election">1958</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1961_South_African_general_election" title="1961 South African general election">1961</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1966_South_African_general_election" title="1966 South African general election">1966</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1970_South_African_general_election" title="1970 South African general election">1970</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1974_South_African_general_election" title="1974 South African general election">1974</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1977_South_African_general_election" title="1977 South African general election">1977</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">1981</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_South_African_general_election" title="1984 South African general election">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1987_South_African_general_election" title="1987 South African general election">1987</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_South_African_general_election" title="1989 South African general election">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_South_African_general_election" title="1994 South African general election">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_South_African_general_election" title="1999 South African general election">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_South_African_general_election" title="2004 South African general election">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_South_African_general_election" title="2009 South African general election">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_South_African_general_election" title="2014 South African general election">2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_South_African_general_election" title="2019 South African general election">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_South_African_general_election" title="2024 South African general election">2024</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Provincial_legislature_(South_Africa)" title="Provincial legislature (South Africa)">Provincial elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1910_Cape_of_Good_Hope_Provincial_Council_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1910 Cape of Good Hope Provincial Council election (page does not exist)">1910</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1917_Cape_of_Good_Hope_Provincial_Council_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1917 Cape of Good Hope Provincial Council election (page does not exist)">1917</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1935_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1935 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1935</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1936_Transvaal_Provincial_Council_election&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1936 Transvaal Provincial Council election (page does not exist)">1936</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1943_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1943 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1943</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1949_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1949 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1949</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1954_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1954 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1954</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1959_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1959 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1959</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1965_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1965 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1965</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1970_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1970 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1970</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1974_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1974 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1974</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_provincial_elections&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="1981 South African provincial elections (page does not exist)">1981</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_South_African_general_election" title="1994 South African general election">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_South_African_general_election" title="1999 South African general election">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_South_African_general_election" title="2004 South African general election">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_South_African_general_election" title="2009 South African general election">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_South_African_general_election" title="2014 South African general election">2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_South_African_general_election" title="2019 South African general election">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_South_African_provincial_elections" title="2024 South African provincial elections">2024</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Municipalities_of_South_Africa" title="Municipalities of South Africa">Municipal elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1995%E2%80%9396_South_African_municipal_elections" title="1995–96 South African municipal elections">1995–96</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2000_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2000 South African municipal elections">2000</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2006_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2006 South African municipal elections">2006</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2011 South African municipal elections">2011</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2016 South African municipal elections">2016</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021_South_African_municipal_elections" title="2021 South African municipal elections">2021</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Referendums</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1960_South_African_republic_referendum" title="1960 South African republic referendum">1960</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1983_South_African_constitutional_referendum" title="1983 South African constitutional referendum">1983</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1992_South_African_apartheid_referendum" title="1992 South African apartheid referendum">1992</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li>See also: <a href="/wiki/Template:Boer_and_South_African_colonial_elections" title="Template:Boer and South African colonial elections">Elections and referendums in the Boer republics and South African colonies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Bantustan_elections" title="Template:Bantustan elections">Elections and referendums in South African Bantustans</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&oldid=1234913181">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&oldid=1234913181</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:General_elections_in_South_Africa" title="Category:General elections in South Africa">General elections in South Africa</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1981_elections_in_South_Africa" title="Category:1981 elections in South Africa">1981 elections in South Africa</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Events_associated_with_apartheid" title="Category:Events associated with apartheid">Events associated with apartheid</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:April_1981_events_in_Africa" title="Category:April 1981 events in Africa">April 1981 events in Africa</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_with_empty_Wikidata_description" title="Category:Short description with empty Wikidata description">Short description with empty Wikidata description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:EngvarB_from_July_2016" title="Category:EngvarB from July 2016">EngvarB from July 2016</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_July_2016" title="Category:Use dmy dates from July 2016">Use dmy dates from July 2016</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Election_and_referendum_articles_with_incomplete_results" title="Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results">Election and referendum articles with incomplete results</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 16 July 2024, at 19:45<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1981_South_African_general_election&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-6b7f745dd4-5v6vb","wgBackendResponseTime":130,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.461","walltime":"0.563","ppvisitednodes":{"value":4980,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":92056,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":22519,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":16,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":5,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":28974,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 473.241 1 -total"," 37.64% 178.128 1 Template:Infobox_election"," 20.71% 98.003 1 Template:Politics_of_South_Africa"," 20.10% 95.108 1 Template:Sidebar_with_collapsible_lists"," 12.89% 61.015 3 Template:Infobox_election/row"," 12.05% 57.003 1 Template:Short_description"," 9.97% 47.187 1 Template:Reflist"," 8.08% 38.250 1 Template:Election_results"," 7.47% 35.367 1 Template:ISBN"," 7.27% 34.425 1 Template:South_African_elections"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.233","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":6761467,"limit":52428800},"limitreport-logs":"table#1 {\n}\n"},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-wdqp9","timestamp":"20241125012021","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"1981 South African general election","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1981_South_African_general_election","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2391250","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2391250","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2006-02-21T09:53:09Z","dateModified":"2024-07-16T19:45:58Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/15\/South_Africa_election_1981.png"}</script> </body> </html>