Apartheid During the 1980s - Tricameral Government

History Research Essay

Apartheid is defined as the system of racial segregation amongst people in which in South Africa, was a formal law passed by the National Party governments in 1948.
This system had always been under pressure and criticism from liberation movements and groups such as the ANC and Black Consciousness Movement. However in the 1980s the Apartheid government came under a notably increased international and internal pressure. This can be attributed to the creation of the Tri-Cameral Parliament.

Pieter Willem Botha (P.W Botha) was the first State President in South Africa and beforehand was the Prime Minister. In the 1980s people and governments launched an international campaign to essentially boycott South Africa if they pursued an Apartheid policy. Some countries banned the import of South African products and citizens of many countries pressured major companies to leave South Africa. Many international sporting ties were also cut with South Africa. These actions had a major effect on the South African economy. In response, as Prime Minister, P.W proposed a way to try and amend the South African constitution and restructure the Parliament.

In September 1983 the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act was adopted. This differed from the constitution which had gone in three main aspects:

The first being that a Tri-Cameral Parliament [1] was formed which introduced significant supposed reforms. For the first time since Apartheid started Coloured and Indian people now had a greater but powerless level of representation in the South African political system. Members of the different ethnic groups would elect the representatives of their respective chambers. These being – the House of Assembly (representing Whites) the House of Representatives (Coloured) and the House of Delegates (Indian).

This in itself was a reform as Coloured and Indian people could now account for their individual undertakings as the Houses now had jurisdiction over of their “own affairs”, of which the other chambers could not interfere with. These related to matters of foreign affairs, justice, education, social welfare and housing to name a few. In certainty it was a proposal set to combat criticism and to share power amongst White, Coloured and Indian people.

Despite the reform however at the core, control was still maintained by the majority of which was by White People. They held the largest number of seats (of which was 178 to the Coloureds and Indians 85 and 45 seats respectively).
1 – Tri-cameral Parliament meaning a three chambered government.
2 – To have executive powers is to have the authority to carry out orders.
1 – Tri-cameral Parliament meaning a three chambered government.
2 – To have executive powers is to have the authority to carry out orders.
First State President of South Africa. - Pieter Willem Botha
First State President of South Africa. - Pieter Willem Botha

The second aspect is that the positions of Prime Minister and State President were combined to form a State President; at the time was P.W. Botha. This leader was voted on by the electoral college of which consisted of 50 whites, 25 coloureds and 13 Indians. The State President would have executive [2] powers and would be elected every five years.
He therefore became the Head of Government and Head of State and was chairman of the Presidents Council.
The third and final difference in the constitution is that a Presidents Council was formed used to advise the State President and resolve disagreements between chambers. It consisted of 60 members – 20 members appointed by the House of Assembly, 10 by the House of Representatives, 5 by the House of Delegates and 25 directly by the State President.
On the 2nd of November 1983 a Referendum was proposed of which 70% of the White voters favoured the new constitution. Elections for the Houses of Representatives were to be held on the 22nd of August and the 2nd of September the following year.

Naturally this new system received opposition, most notably being the response of black Africans to the new constitution. The Tri-cameral Parliament didn’t propose any representation for blacks. It was said that due to their respective homelands they already had political rights whereas Coloureds and Indians didn’t. The true reasons for them not having a chamber of reps in this parliament were as each house was sized in effect to its population. As black Africans made up 70% of the population they would be able to outvote the whites, coloureds and Indians with having had the most number of seats. It led to multiple uprisings in townships as well as particularly the “Township Revolt”[3] lasting from 1984 to 1986.

Internally from the Right Wing of the National Party opposition was felt towards the new constitution – so much so that it in fact led to members breaking off to form the Conservative Party in 1982, led by Dr. Andries Treurnicht. Previous to that he had been the leader of the National Party in Transvaal and a cabinet minister. In his own words, the involvement of Coloured and Indian cabinet ministers was “a totally unacceptable thought”. Together this group was fighting for Apartheid to return to its purest form.

Other forms of internal protest included within the churches. They became places to congregate for meetings and places to collect food and funds for striking workers and for families of jailed workers. Significant figures included Allen Boesak [4] and the Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu. There was an increase in the formation of Civic organisations which represented communities as well as an increase in student protests which were both major features in the protests of 1980s.

The Tri-cameral Parliament also gained noteworthy opposition from the United Democratic front (UDF) [5] and of which came to be one of the most important anti-apartheid organizations of the 1980s. It was formed by hundreds of anti-apartheid groups such as the Africa National Congress (ANC) as well many trade unions directly in response to the formation of the Tri-cameral Parliament. It was led by Allen Boesak. Similarly the National Forum[6] was formed in 1984 and tended to represent those allied to the Black Consciousness movement.

3 – The Township Revolt was the longest and most widespread period of black resistance to while rule.
4 – Allan Aubrey Boesak (born 23 February 1945 in Kakamas, Northern Cape) is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and politician and anti-apartheid activist.
5 – The UDF was founded in 1983 in direct response to the new constitution and worked to unite various apartheid groups and work against Apartheid. It claimed to represent 600 organisations and by 1985 and near 3 million members.
6 – The National Forum was also an umbrella organization which claimed to represent 200 organizations.
3 – The Township Revolt was the longest and most widespread period of black resistance to while rule.
4 – Allan Aubrey Boesak (born 23 February 1945 in Kakamas, Northern Cape) is a South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric and politician and anti-apartheid activist.
5 – The UDF was founded in 1983 in direct response to the new constitution and worked to unite various apartheid groups and work against Apartheid. It claimed to represent 600 organisations and by 1985 and near 3 million members.
6 – The National Forum was also an umbrella organization which claimed to represent 200 organizations.

With the upcoming elections for the Houses of Representatives and Delegates in 1984, the UDF launched a massive national campaign known as the “Don’t Vote Campaign” to boycott these elections and to discourage Coloured and Indian voters from participating.
Propaganda posters to dissuade Coloureds and Indians from voting.
Propaganda posters to dissuade Coloureds and Indians from voting.

Other organisations also followed in succession such as the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) and the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). The boycott was so greatly supported and of such high success that the 1984 elections achieved an infamously low turnout of 16.2%. This lack of participation proved that the majority of South Africans considered the Tri-cameral Parliament as farcical and when the new constitution went into effect regardless there was an explosion in civic society protest and student unrest against it.

In reaction, mass action campaigns swept throughout the country which included strikes, mass protests and rent boycotts. Countless people and policemen were attacked with petrol bombs, beaten, and murdered by necklacing[7]. Unrest continued to become more frequent as one of the strategies of the anti-apartheid groups was to make the country ungovernable. The UDF and National Forum continued to resist Apartheid and urged boycotting the new constitution.
During this time however the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was formed as well as South Africa faced a number of sanctions. Pressure from overseas increased, foreign loans were cancelled and world support for the struggle against Apartheid was highlighted when in 1984 the Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize.
An example of the acts of violence in the 1980s.
An example of the acts of violence in the 1980s.
Violence erupted and intensified on many occasions and in response on the 20th of July 1985 P.W. Botha declared a State of Emergency[8] in 36 magisterial districts in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng areas. By 1986 30 000 people had been detained, some tortured and interrogated. Shockingly this state of Emergency lasted until its upliftment in 1990 by President Frederik Willem de Klerk (F.W de Klerk).

7 – Killing people by setting alight a car tyre, hung around their neck and filled with petrol or diesel.
8 – State of Emergency meant the ordinary laws of a country are suspended as they are no longer enough to ensure law and order. Policemen and soldiers have extra power. People could be detained without trial and things such as a curfew could be issued.
7 – Killing people by setting alight a car tyre, hung around their neck and filled with petrol or diesel.
8 – State of Emergency meant the ordinary laws of a country are suspended as they are no longer enough to ensure law and order. Policemen and soldiers have extra power. People could be detained without trial and things such as a curfew could be issued.
As diplomatic and economic actions against South Africa increased P.W. Botha suffered a mild stroke in 1989. That year in September he was succeeded by F.W. de Klerk. Despite having a conservative career in his parliamentary address he led speaks about a non-racist South Africa. He went on to unban political organisations such as the ANC and PAC as well as to free Nelson Mandela.

The formation of the Tri-cameral parliament is often seen as a recognisable effort at the time to try and reform the Apartheid regime which meant that it was foreseen by the leaders at the time that our government would inevitably change. The opposition to the new constitution in turn paved the way for the pinnacle point to be reached in which internal and external pressures were at its peak alongside acts of protest. The only inevitable choice would be to give people their liberation. The last meeting of the Tri-cameral parliament was held in the November of 1993.