South Africa Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Republic of South Africa

Type: republic

Capital: administrative, Pretoria; legislative. Cape Town; judicial, Bloemfontein

Political subdivisions: 4 provinces, each headed by centrally appointed administrator; provincial councils, elected by white electorate, retain limited powers; numerous districts; 10 homelands’ administered in areas set aside for black Africans

Legal system: based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law; constitution enacted 1961, changing the Union of South Africa into a republic; accepts compulsory 1CJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Republic Day, 31 May

Branches: state president is chief of state, head of government, and chairman of cabinet; tricameral legislature—House of Assembly (whites), House of Representatives (coloreds), and House of Delegates (Indians) elected directly by respective racial electorates; judiciary maintains substantial independence of government influence

Government leaders: Pieter Willem BOTHA, State President (since September 1984)

Suffrage: general suffrage limited to whites over 18(17 in Natal Province) and to coloreds and Indians over 18

Elections: must be held at least every five years; last white election April 1981; last colored and Indian elections August 1984; because of the introduction of a new constitution in 1984, the next white elections probably will be delayed until 1989 to coincide with nonwhite elections

White political parties and leaders: National Party, P. W. Botha; Progressive Federal Party, Colin Eglin; New Republic Party, Bill Sutton; Conservative Party, Dr. Andries P. Treurnicht; Herstigte National Party, Jaap Marais

Colored political parties and leaders: Labor Party, Allan Hendrickse (majority party); People’s Congress Party, Peter Marais

Indian political parties and leaders: National People’s Party, Amichand Rajbansi (majority party); Solidarity, J. N. Reddy

Voting strength: white parliamentary seats—National Party, 127; Progressive Federal Party, 27; Conservative Party, 18; New Republic, 5; Herstigte National Party, I

Communists: small Communist Party illegal since 1950; party in exile maintains headquarters in London; Joe Slovo

Other political groups: (insurgent groups in exile) African National Congress (ANC), Oliver Tambo; Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Johnson Mlambo

Member of: GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IHO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, INTFLSAT, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, UN, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG (membership rights in IAE A, ICAO, ITU, WHO, WIPO, and WMO suspended or restricted)

NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Africa 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.