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89-527: The constituency office is situated in Aroab. Keetmanshoop Rural is traditionally a stronghold of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) party. In the 2004 regional elections , Aroab schoolteacher and sitting councillor Willem Appollus (SWAPO) was reelected with 1,095 of the 2,597 votes cast. He was subsequently elected by the ǁKaras Regional council to represent the region in

178-479: A national referendum on Apartheid in 1992 for the White population alone that asked them if they supported the government's policy to end apartheid and establish elections open to all South Africans: a large majority voted in favour of the government's policy. In the 1994 elections , it expanded its base to include many non-Whites, including significant support from Coloured and Indian South Africans. It participated in

267-796: A backtrack as the Statute of Westminster resolved that British Dominions could not have "total" control over their external concerns, but in 1934 the Status and Seals Acts were passed, granting the South African Parliament even greater power than the British government over the Union. The extreme NP members of the 1930s were known collectively as the Republikeinse Bond. The following organisations, parties and events promoted

356-671: A member of the British Commonwealth. When this was granted the following year by the London Declaration , It roused much debate in South Africa between the pro-republican NP and the anti-republican UP (under Strauss). It meant that, even if South Africa did become a republic, it did not automatically have to sever all of its ties with the UK and the British Commonwealth. This gained the movement further support from

445-561: A proliferation of right-wing parties siphoned off important segments of its traditional voter base. Throughout its reign, the party's support came mainly from Afrikaners , but other White people were courted by and increasingly voted for the NP after 1960. By the 1980s, however, in reaction to the "verligte" reforms of P. W. Botha , the majority of Afrikaners drifted to the Conservative Party of Andries Treurnicht , who called for

534-641: A republic before changing its mind and deciding that it was too early. The Afrikaner Broederbond , a secret organization founded in 1918 to support the interests of Afrikaners in South Africa, soon became a powerful force in the South African political scene. The Republican Bond was established in the 1930s, and other republican organisations such as the Purified National Party , the Voortrekkers , Noodhulpliga (First-Aid League) and

623-600: A republic outside the Commonwealth. His decision was received with regret by the Prime Ministers of the UK, Australia and New Zealand but was met with obvious approval from South Africa's critics. Verwoerd said the next day that the move would not affect South Africa's relationship with the United Kingdom. On his homecoming, he was met with a rapturous reception. Afrikaner nationalists were not deterred by

712-468: A segregated nation. The United Party held a 100,000-vote lead. Consequently, the NP had to rely on the Afrikaner Party's support. It did not, therefore, have the groundswell of public support that it needed to win a referendum, and only when it had that majority on its side could a referendum be held on the republican matter. However, with a small seating majority and a total vote-tally minority, it

801-787: A sentiment rooted in Boer history. Beginning in 1836, waves of Boers began to migrate north from the Cape Colony to live beyond the reach of the British colonial administration . Eventually, the migrating Boers founded three republics in southern Africa: the Natalia Republic , the South African Republic and the Orange Free State . British colonial expansion in the 19th century led to the annexation of

890-493: A splinter faction became the official opposition during World War II and returned to power. With the National Party governing South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994 , the country for the bulk of this time was only a de jure or partial democracy, as from 1958 onwards non-white people were barred from voting . In 1990, it began to style itself as simply a South African civic nationalist party, and after

979-463: A third term in 1999, as it limits the presidency to two terms. In 2004, the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hifikepunye Pohamba , described as Nujoma's hand-picked successor. In 2014, the SWAPO presidential candidate was Hage Geingob , who was the vice-president of SWAPO. In 2019 presidential election , president Geingob won his second five-year term as Namibian president. SWAPO was founded with

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1068-429: Is a correlation between the life circumstances of ex-fighters and their lack of resilience to traumatic war experiences. Resiliency has been linked to a number of protective factors, such as the socio-economic situation of the survivors, their socio-political environment, their social support networks, and their cognitive processes. The study says that, in the case of Namibian ex-fighters, long-term psychological distress

1157-498: Is advised by a youth league , a women's council, and an elders' council. The politburo of SWAPO is a body that currently consists of: SWAPO's Central Committee consists of: The current members are : Elected members : President-appointed members (2017): Although SWAPO receives finances from government for its operations, the party also holds extensive business interests. Through Kalahari Holdings, it entered into joint ventures with several companies, most prominently

1246-438: Is different from a simple PTSD diagnosis. The survivors have almost invariably gone for nearly two decades without seeking treatment, adding to their burdens. During this time, the ex-fighters have been exposed to additional social and psychological stressors through life events. For a person without PTSD, such stressors may have fleeting effects, but for a sufferer of long-term psychological distress, each life incident could reduce

1335-501: The Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party), which went on to defeat Smuts' United Party in 1948 in coalition with the much smaller Afrikaner Party . In 1951, the two amalgamated to once again become known simply as the National Party. Upon taking power after the 1948 general election , the NP began to implement a program of apartheid – the legal system of political, economic and social separation of

1424-545: The 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London to discuss South Africa becoming a republic within the Commonwealth, presenting the Republic of South Africa 's application for a renewal of its membership to the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth had earlier declined to predict how republican status would affect South Africa's membership; it did not want to be seen meddling in its members' domestic affairs. However, many of

1513-558: The 2015 regional elections , Elias Kharuxab of SWAPO won the constituency with 1,288 votes. He defeated challengers Moses Timotheus Titus (DTA, 474 votes) and Willem Martin Stephanus (RDP, 269 votes). The 2020 regional election was Gerrit Witbooi from the Landless People's Movement (LPM, a new party registered in 2018). He obtained 1,817 votes. Kharuxab, the sitting SWAPO councillor, came second with 919 votes. In 2023, Witbooi

1602-400: The Landless People's Movement , describes the current party ideology as liberal nationalism with traces of " dogmatism , authoritarianism , and statism ". The party president is the top position of SWAPO; in 2012 this was held by Namibia's former president Pohamba. The vice-president was Namibia's former president Hage Geingob , who was elected to that position in 2007 and reconfirmed at

1691-902: The Natalia Republic by Britain and the First and Second Boer Wars , which resulted in the South African Republic and the Orange Free State being annexed into the Empire as well. Despite Britain's victory in the Second Boer War, Afrikaners resisted British control in southern Africa. In 1914, a group of anti-British Afrikaners led the Maritz rebellion against the Union of South Africa during World War I ; two years later, an NP congress called for South Africa to become

1780-531: The National Council . Apollus did not seek re-election in 2010. In the 2010 regional elections , SWAPO 's Jims Christiaan won the constituency with 736 votes. He defeated challengers was Simon Johannes Jantze of Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP, 648 votes), Bartholomeus Rooi of Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA, 433 votes) and Joseph Isaaks of the Congress of Democrats (CoD, 88 votes). In

1869-538: The Parliament of South Africa . The White minority of South West Africa, predominantly Germans and Afrikaners, considered its interests akin to those of the Afrikaners in South Africa and therefore supported the National Party in subsequent elections. These reforms bolstered the NP politically, as they removed Black and Coloured influence – which was hostile to the NP – from the electoral process and incorporated

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1958-620: The SWAPO Party of Namibia , is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa ). Founded in 1960, it has been the governing party in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. The party continues to be dominated in number and influence by the Ovambo ethnic group . SWAPO held a two-thirds majority in parliament from 1994 to 2019. In

2047-809: The South West Africa National Union (SWANU), and later in 1976 the Namibia African People's Democratic Organisation . SWAPO used guerrilla tactics to fight the South African Defence Force . On 26 August 1966, the first major clash of the conflict took place, when a unit of the South African Police , supported by the South African Air Force , exchanged fire with SWAPO forces. This date is generally regarded as

2136-800: The fall of apartheid in 1994, attempted to become a moderate conservative one. The party's reputation was damaged irreparably by perpetrating apartheid, and it rebranded itself as the New National Party in 1997 before eventually dissolving in 2005. Beginning in 1948 following the general election , the party as the governing party of South Africa began implementing its policy of racial segregation , known as apartheid (the Afrikaans term for "separateness"). Although White-minority rule and racial segregation were already in existence in South Africa with non-Whites not having voting rights and efforts made to encourage segregation, apartheid intensified

2225-605: The general election held in November 2019, the party won 65.5% of the popular vote and 63 out of the 104 seats in the National Assembly . It also holds 28 out of the 42 seats in the National Council . From November 2017 until his death in February 2024, Namibian President Hage Geingob remained the president of SWAPO after being elected to the position at the party's electoral congress. German South West Africa

2314-550: The "Lion of the North", Strijdom made few changes to his cabinet and pursued with vigour the policy of apartheid. By 1956, he successfully placed the Coloureds on a separate voters' roll, thus further weakening ties with the Commonwealth and gaining support for the NP. He also took several other steps to make South Africa less dependent on Britain: Anti-republican South Africans recognised the shift and distancing from Britain, and

2403-670: The 'sole legitimate representative' of Namibia's people. The Norwegian government began giving aid directly to SWAPO in 1974. The country of Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975 following its war for independence . The leftist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union , came to power. In March 1976, the MPLA offered SWAPO bases in Angola for launching attacks against

2492-544: The 1919 Paris Peace Conference was a definite (if failed) attempt to gain independence. In 1926, however, the Balfour Declaration was passed, affording every British dominion within the British Empire equal rank and bestowing upon them their right of the direction of foreign issues. This resulted the following year in the institution of South Africa's first-ever Department of Foreign Affairs. 1931 saw

2581-572: The ANC and other anti-apartheid movements. In September 1990 the party opened up its membership to all racial groups and rebranded itself as no longer being an ethnic nationalist party only representing Afrikaners, but would henceforth be a civic nationalist and conservative party representing all South Africans. However, there was significant opposition among hardliner supporters of apartheid that resulted in De Klerk's government responding to them by holding

2670-430: The British government was no longer prepared to stand by South Africa's racist policies. Nevertheless, the referendum was a significant victory for Afrikaner nationalism as British political and cultural influence waned in South Africa. However, one question remained after the referendum: would South Africa become a republic outside the Commonwealth (the outcome favoured by the most Afrikaner nationalists)? Withdrawal from

2759-569: The Common Roll of Cape Province in 1953. Instead of voting for the same representatives as White South Africans, they could now vote only for four White representatives to speak for them. Later, in 1968, the Coloureds were disenfranchised altogether. In the place of the four parliamentary seats, a partially elected body was set up to advise the government in an amendment to the Separate Representation of Voters Act . This made

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2848-488: The Commonwealth would likely alienate English speakers and damage relations with many other countries. Former British colonies such as India, Pakistan and Ghana were all republics within the Commonwealth, and Verwoerd announced that South Africa would follow suit "if possible". In January 1961, Verwoerd's government enacted legislation to transform the Union of South Africa into the Republic of South Africa. The constitution

2937-533: The Conference's affiliates (prominent among them the Afro-Asia group and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker ) attacked South Africa's racial policies and rebuffed Verwoerd's application; they would go to any lengths to expel South Africa from the Commonwealth. Numerous anti-apartheid movements also campaigned for South Africa's exclusion from the UK. Some member countries warned that they would pull out of

3026-591: The English-speaking populace, which was less worried about being isolated, and the republican ideal looked closer than ever to being fulfilled. Although he could not make South Africa a republic, Malan could prepare the country for this eventuality. In his term of office, from 1948 to 1954, Malan took several steps to break ties with the UK: The 1953 ballot votes saw the NP fortify its position considerably, winning comfortably but still falling well short of

3115-604: The Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurverenigings (Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Organisations) also came into being. There was a widespread outpouring of nationalist sentiment around the 1938 centenary of the Great Trek and the Battle of Blood River . It was seen to signify the perpetuation of white South African culture, and anti-British and pro-republican feelings grew more assertive. It was obvious in political circles that

3204-525: The Government of National Unity between 1994 and 1996. In an attempt to distance itself from its past, the party was renamed the New National Party in 1997. The attempt was largely unsuccessful and the new party decided to merge with the ANC. The National Party was founded in Bloemfontein in 1914 by Afrikaner nationalists soon after the establishment of the Union of South Africa . Its founding

3293-545: The Hertzog government worked to undermine the vote of Coloureds (South Africans of mixed White and non-White ancestry) by granting the right to vote to White women, thus doubling White political power. In 1934, Hertzog agreed to merge his National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts to form the United Party . A hardline faction of Afrikaner nationalists led by Daniel François Malan refused to accept

3382-418: The NP was to move all Black South Africans into one of these homelands (although they might continue to work in South Africa as "guest workers"), leaving what was left of South Africa (about 87 per cent of the land area) with what would then be a White majority, at least on paper. As the apartheid government saw the homelands as embryonic independent nations, all Black South Africans were registered as citizens of

3471-569: The NP-led government had South Africa leave the Commonwealth, abandon its monarchy led by the British monarch and become an independent republic. The party's system of apartheid was officially labelled a crime against humanity by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. During the 1970s and 1980s, the NP-led white apartheid government faced internal unrest in South Africa and international pressure for

3560-449: The NP-led government led by P. W. Botha and the outlawed ANC led by then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela began in 1987 with Botha seeking to accommodate the ANC's demands and consider releasing Mandela and legalising the ANC on the condition that it would renounce the use of political violence to attain its aims. F. W. de Klerk declared in February 1990 the decision to permit the release of Mandela from prison and ending South Africa's ban on

3649-561: The Namibian branch of MultiChoice , a private satellite TV provider, of which it owns 51%. Kalahari Holdings has further joint ventures with Radio Energy, Africa Online , and businesses in the tourism, farming, security services and health insurance sectors. It owns Namib Contract Haulage, Namprint, Kudu Investments and the Ndilimani Cultural Troupe. Namibia Today was the mouthpiece of the SWAPO, and Asser Ntinda

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3738-557: The P.E.A.C.E. Centre (People's Education, Assistance and Counselling for Empowerment) conducted an extensive study on the lives of Namibian ex-fighters and their families fifteen years after Independence. Their published ebook investigates the post-independence lives of those who fought on both sides of the Namibian War of Independence . Data from this research indicate that ex-fighters still exhibit symptoms of long-term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings indicate there

3827-512: The Republican ideal in the 1930s: There was some confusion about the republican ideal during the war years. The Herenigde Nasionale Party , with Hertzog its leader, pushed the issue into the background. After Hertzog left the party, however, it became republican. In 1942 and 1944, D. F. Malan introduced a motion in the House of Assembly in favour of the establishment of a republic, but this

3916-462: The SWAPO congress in December 2012, until his death on 4 February 2024. The third highest position in SWAPO is the secretary-general, a position held in December 2012 by Nangolo Mbumba . Number four is the deputy secretary-general, Omaheke governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua . Like many socialist and communist parties, SWAPO is governed by a politburo and a central committee . The party leadership

4005-408: The South African military. When Namibia gained its independence in 1990, SWAPO became the dominant political party. Though the organisation rejected the term South West Africa and preferred to use Namibia , the organisation's original name—derived from the territory's old name—was too deeply rooted in the independence movement to be changed. However, the original full name is no longer used; only

4094-635: The UK. South Africa now had its first independent constitution. However, the only real constitutional change was that the State President, in charge for seven years, would assume the now-vacant position of the Queen as Head of State. C. R. Swart , the State President-elect, took the first republican oath as State President of South Africa before Chief Justice L. C. Steyn (DRC). Although White inhabitants were generally happy with

4183-480: The UP grew increasingly anxious, doing all it could to persuade Parliament to retain Commonwealth links. Strijdom, however, declared that South Africa's participation (or otherwise) in the Commonwealth would be determined only by its best interests. The question of apartheid dominated the 1958 election, and the NP took 55% of the vote, thus winning a clear majority for the first time. When Strijdom died that same year, there

4272-509: The Union of South Africa was headed inevitably towards republicanism. Although it remained a Dominion after unification in 1910, the country was granted increased amounts of self-government ; indeed, it already had complete autonomy on specific issues. It was agreed in 1910 that the South African government would look after domestic matters but that the country's external affairs would remain British-controlled. Hertzog's trip to

4361-544: The accommodation of non-Whites in South Africa. It resulted in policies of granting concessions to the non-White population while still retaining the apartheid system, such as the creation of Bantustans that were autonomous self-governing Black homelands (criticised for several of them being broken up into unconnected pieces and that they were still dominated by the White minority South African government), removing legal prohibitions on interracial marriage, and legalising certain non-White and multiracial political parties (excluding

4450-401: The acronym remains. SWAPO, and with it much of Namibia's government and administration, continues to be dominated by the Ovambo ethnic group , despite "considerable efforts to counter [that] perception". SWAPO president Sam Nujoma was declared Namibia's first President after SWAPO won the inaugural election in 1989 . A decade later, Nujoma had the constitution changed so he could run for

4539-472: The aim of attaining the independence of Namibia and therefore is part of the African nationalist movement. Pre-independence it harboured a socialist , Marxist–Leninist ideology, a thinking that was not immediately abandoned when independence was achieved in 1990 and SWAPO became the ruling party. Officially, however, it adopted a social democratic ideology, until the electoral congress in 2017 approved

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4628-606: The anniversary of several historical events, the 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging, which ended the Anglo-Boer War; South Africa's becoming a union in 1910; and the first hoisting of the Union flag in 1928. The Afrikaner republican dream had finally come to reality. The significance of Commonwealth withdrawal turned out to be less than expected. It was not necessary for South Africa to amend its trading preferences, and Prime Minister Macmillan reciprocated Verwoerd's assurance that withdrawal would not alter trade between South Africa and

4717-407: The apartheid era. Its popular vote record was more mixed: While it won the popular vote with a comfortable margin in most general elections, the NP carried less than 50% of the electorate in 1948, 1953, 1961, and 1989. In 1977, the NP got its best-ever result in the elections with the support of 64.8% of the White voters and 134 parliamentary seats out of 165. After this, the party's consent declined as

4806-473: The clear majority it sought: it had 94 seats in parliament to the UP's 57 and the Labour Party's five. Malan retired in 1954 at the age of eighty. The two succession contenders were J. G. Strijdom (Minister of Lands and Irrigation) and Havenga (Minister of Finance). Malan personally preferred the latter and, indeed, recommended him. Malan and Strijdom had clashed frequently over the years, particularly on

4895-401: The electorate entirely White, as Indian South Africans had never had any representation. In a move unrecognised by the rest of the world, the former German colony of South West Africa (now Namibia ), which South Africa had occupied in World War I , was effectively incorporated into South Africa as a League of Nations mandate , with seven members elected to represent its White citizens in

4984-416: The foundations for residential segregation in urban areas. Apartheid laws passed by the NP after 1948 included the 'Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act', the 'Immorality Act', the 'Population Registration Act', and the 'Group Areas Act', which prohibited non-white males from being in certain areas of the country (especially at night) unless they were employed there. The NP strongly advocated republicanism ,

5073-417: The government by advocating a "two-stream" policy of equal rights for the English and Afrikaner communities. Afrikaner nationalists in the Transvaal and Cape provinces soon followed suit, so that three distinct provincial NP organisations were in existence in time for the 1915 general elections . The NP first came to power in coalition with the Labour Party in 1924, with Hertzog as Prime Minister . In 1930

5162-448: The homelands, not of the nation as a whole, and were expected to exercise their political rights only in the homelands. Accordingly, the three token parliamentary seats reserved for White representatives of Black South Africans in the Cape Province were scrapped. The other three provinces – Transvaal Province , the Orange Free State Province , and Natal Province had never allowed any Black representation. Coloureds were removed from

5251-498: The ills of apartheid. Commonwealth members were determined to isolate South Africa. There were numerous internal factors which had paved the way for and may be viewed as influences on the result: The opposition accused Verwoerd of trying to break from the Commonwealth and the West, thus losing South Africa's trade preferences. The NP, however, launched a vigorously enthusiastic political campaign with widely advertised public meetings. The opposition found it very difficult to fight for

5340-406: The merger and maintained a rump National Party called the Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party ( Purified National Party ). The Purified National Party used opposition to South African participation in World War II to stir up anti-British feelings amongst Afrikaners. This led to a reunification of the Purified Nationalists with the faction that had merged with the South African Party; together, they formed

5429-540: The new name of the DTA) 275 votes and Magdalena van Staden of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC, an opposition party founded in 2020) 32 votes. 26°48′S 19°39′E  /  26.800°S 19.650°E  / -26.800; 19.650 South West Africa People%27s Organization The South West Africa People's Organisation ( / ˈ s w ɑː p oʊ / , SWAPO ; Afrikaans : Suidwes-Afrikaanse Volks Organisasie , SWAVO; German : Südwestafrikanische Volksorganisation , SWAVO), officially known as

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5518-402: The official change to socialism with a "Namibian character", although some Namibians have labeled the change as lacking a "grass-roots" nature. Various commentators have characterised the politics of SWAPO in different ways. Gerhard Tötemeyer , himself a party member, considers its post-independence politics neoliberal and social democratic . Henny Seibeb , an opposition politician from

5607-524: The organisation unless South Africa were expelled. Verwoerd disregarded the censure, arguing that his Commonwealth cohorts had no right to question and criticise his country's domestic affairs. On this issue, he even had the support of his parliamentary opposition. Thus, on 15 March 1961, ostensibly to Britain an awkward decision and causing a split within the Commonwealth, but more likely to avoid further condemnation and embarrassment, Verwoerd withdrew his application and announced that South Africa would become

5696-467: The party won 126 out of the 170 seats in Parliament. By 1960, however, much of the South African electorate called for withdrawal from the Commonwealth and establishing South Africa as a republic. It was decided that a republican referendum was to be held in October. International circumstances made the referendum a growing necessity. In the aftermath of the World War II , former British colonies in Africa and Asia were gaining independence and publicising

5785-432: The preservation of British links. There were numerous pro-republican arguments: There were also numerous arguments against the establishment of a republic: On 5 October 1960, 90.5% of the White electorate turned out to vote on the issue. 850,458 (52%) voted in favour of a republic, while 775,878 were against it. The Cape, Orange Free State and Transvaal were all in favour; Natal, a mainly English-speaking province,

5874-531: The pro-nationalist Whites of South-West Africa. The NP increased its parliamentary majority in almost every election between 1948 and 1977. Numerous segregation laws had been passed before the NP took power in 1948. Among the most significant were the 'Natives Land Act, No 27 of 1913', and the 'Natives (Urban Areas) Act of 1923'. The former made it illegal for Blacks to purchase or lease land from Whites except in reserves, which restricted Black occupancy to less than eight percent of South Africa's land. The latter laid

5963-464: The question of whether a republican South Africa should be inside or outside the Commonwealth. Strijdom, however, had the support of Verwoerd and Ben Schoeman , and he was eventually voted in as Prime Minister. Strijdom was a passionate and outspoken Afrikaner and republican who wholeheartedly supported apartheid. He was completely intolerant towards non-Afrikaners and liberal ideas, utterly determined to maintain White rule with zero compromise. Known as

6052-499: The races intended to maintain and extend political and economic control of South Africa by the White minority. The party's actions made South Africa for the most part a pariah state across the world. Apartheid was officially labelled a crime against humanity by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. In 1959 the Bantu Self-Government Act established so-called Homelands (sometimes pejoratively called Bantustans ) for ten different Black tribes. The ultimate goal of

6141-415: The radical political movements elsewhere in Africa as vindication of his belief that White and Black nationalism could not work within the same system. Verwoerd also presented the NP as the party best equipped to deal with the widely perceived threat of communism. By the end of his term (caused by his assassination), Verwoerd had solidified the NP's domination of South African politics. In the 1966 elections

6230-437: The relinquishment of Commonwealth membership, for they regarded the Commonwealth as little more than the British Empire in disguise. They believed that South Africa and the United Kingdom had absolutely nothing in common, and even UP leader Sir De Villiers Graaff praised Verwoerd for his handling of the situation. On 31 May 1961, South Africa became a republic. The date was a significant one in Afrikaner history, as it heralded

6319-405: The republic, united in their support of Verwoerd, the Blacks defiantly rejected the move. Nelson Mandela and his National Action Council demonstrated from 29 to 31 May 1961. The republican issue would strongly intensify resistance to apartheid. In October 1961, Verwoerd appointed the National Party's two first English-speaking ministers. The NP won most parliamentary seats in all elections during

6408-489: The segregation with stern penalties for non-Whites entering into areas designated for Whites-only without having a pass to permit them to do so (known as the pass laws ), interracial marriage and sexual relationships were illegal and punishable offences. Black people faced significant restrictions on property rights . After South Africa was condemned by the British Commonwealth for its policies of apartheid,

6497-476: The start of what became known in South Africa as the Border War . One important factor in the fight for independence was the 1971-72 Namibian contract workers strike , which fought for the elimination of the contract labor system and independence from South Africa. An underlying goal was the promotion of independence under SWAPO leadership. In 1972, the United Nations General Assembly recognised SWAPO as

6586-659: The survivor's resilience to trauma, as well as triggering "flashbacks" to events during the war. SWAPO is a full member of Socialist International . It was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement before the independence of Namibia in 1990. National Party (South Africa) The National Party ( Afrikaans : Nasionale Party , NP ), also known as the Nationalist Party , was a political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which

6675-474: The very popular African National Congress (ANC), which the government still viewed as a terrorist organisation). Those identified as Coloureds and Indian South Africans were granted separate legislatures in 1983 alongside the central legislature that represented Whites to provide them self-government while maintaining apartheid, but no such congress was supplied to the Black population as their self-government

6764-475: The war and abused during interrogations. In 2004, BWS alleged that "In exile, hundreds of SWAPO dependants and members were detained, tortured and killed without trial." SWAPO denies serious infractions and claims anything that did happen was in the name of liberation. Because of a series of successful South African raids, the SWAPO leadership believed that spies existed in the movement. Hundreds of SWAPO cadres were imprisoned, tortured and interrogated. In 2005,

6853-590: Was a tripartite succession contest between Swart, Dönges and Verwoerd. The latter, devoted to the cause of a republican South Africa, was the new Prime Minister. Verwoerd, a former Minister of Native Affairs, played a leading role in the institution of the apartheid system. Under his leadership, the NP solidified its control over South African apartheid-era politics. To gain the support of the English-identified population of South Africa, Verwoerd appointed several English speakers to his cabinet. He also cited

6942-429: Was defeated. When the NP came to power in 1948 (making it the first all-Afrikaner cabinet since 1910), there were two uppermost priorities that it was determined to fulfil: Between 1948 and 1961, Prime Ministers D. F. Malan , J. G. Strijdom and Hendrik Verwoerd all worked very hard for the latter, implementing a battery of policies and changes in a bid to increase the country's autonomy. Divided loyalty, they felt,

7031-560: Was established in 1884. After World War I, the League of Nations gave South West Africa, formerly a German colony , to the United Kingdom as a mandate under the administration of South Africa. When the National Party won the 1948 election in South Africa and subsequently introduced apartheid legislation, these laws were applied as well to South West Africa. It was considered the de facto fifth province of South Africa. SWAPO

7120-636: Was finalised in April. It merged the authority of the British Crown and Governor-General into a new post, State President of South Africa . The State President would have relatively little political power, serving more as the ceremonial head of state. The political power was to lie with the Prime Minister (head of government). The Republic of South Africa would also have its monetary system, employing Rand and Cents. In March 1961, Verwoerd visited

7209-489: Was founded on 19 April 1960 as the successor of the Ovamboland People's Organization . Leaders renamed the party to show that it represented all Namibians. But, the organisation had its base among the Ovambo people of northern Namibia, who constituted nearly half the total population. During 1962, SWAPO had emerged as the dominant nationalist organisation for the Namibian people. It co-opted other groups such as

7298-573: Was holding South Africa back. They wanted to break the country's ties with the United Kingdom and establish a republic, and many South Africans grew confident that a republic was possible. Unfortunately for its republicans, the NP was not in a strong parliamentary position. Although it held a majority (only five) of seats, many of these were in rural constituencies, which had far fewer voters than urban constituencies. Malan appealed to many rural voters due to his agricultural policy, meaning black workers relied on white farmers for work, fuelling his quest for

7387-469: Was impossible for now for Malan and his ardently republican Nats to bring about a republic constitutionally. In the interim, the NP would have to consolidate itself and not antagonise the British. Many English speakers did not want to break their ties with the United Kingdom. However, in 1949, at the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London (with Malan in attendance), India requested that, despite its newly attained republican status, it remain

7476-497: Was its editor. The paper does not appear to have been active since 7 April 2011 and closed down in 2015. Various groups have claimed that SWAPO committed serious human rights abuses against suspected spies during the independence struggle. Since the early 21st century, they have pressed the government more strongly on this issue. Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS) is one of the groups founded by people who were detained by SWAPO during

7565-523: Was not. It was a narrow victory for the republicans. However, a considerable number of Afrikaners did vote against the measure. The few Blacks, Indians and Coloureds allowed to vote were decidedly against the measure. English speakers who voted for a republic had done so on the condition that their cultural heritage be safeguarded. Many had associated a republic with the survival of the White South Africans. Macmillan's speech illustrated that

7654-488: Was recalled as the regional councillor by his party, his membership in the party was also terminated. In the by-election necessitated by Witbooi's withdrawal, LPM candidate Petrus Labuschagne (LPM) claimed the seat with 1270 votes. He defeated other candidates such as Elias Kharuxab (Swapo) 872, Witbooi (now an independent candidate , 463 votes), Johannes Eiman of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM,

7743-514: Was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule . The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, which initially promoted the interests of Afrikaners but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy , for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival, the SAP, during the Great Depression , and

7832-476: Was rooted in disagreements among South African Party politicians, particularly Prime Minister Louis Botha and his first Minister of Justice, J. B. M. Hertzog . After Hertzog began speaking out publicly against the Botha government's "one-stream" policy in 1912, Botha removed him from the cabinet. Hertzog and his followers in the Orange Free State province subsequently moved to establish the National Party to oppose

7921-495: Was to be provided through the Bantustans. The NP-led government began changing laws affected by the apartheid system that had come under heavy domestic and international condemnation, such as removing the pass laws, granting Blacks full property rights that ended previous significant restrictions on Black land ownership, and the right to form trade unions. Following escalating economic sanctions over apartheid, negotiations between

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