August 15, 1989F. W. de Klerk is sworn in as acting president of South Africa, replacing Mr. Botha, who had died of a stroke that same year. Mr. de Klerk reaffirms an earlier promise to phase out apartheid. Stating to the country that they are about to enter an era of change. October 15, 1989 Two months later the government freed eight of the country’s most prominent political prisoners, including Walter Sisulu who was a mentor to Mr. Mandela and a very close friend, in a gesture that was widely seen as a trial run for Mr. Mandela’s release. February 2, 1990 Mr.de Klerk lifted the ban on the A.N.C. (African National Congress) and several other political organizations, and lifted many of the restrictions put in place when the state of emergency was declared four years earlier. He promises that Mr. Mandela will be released within that same year. February 11, 1990 Mr. Mandela,71, was freed, ending 27 and a half years of imprisonment. For Mr. de Klerk, enlisting Mr. Mandela in negotiations over a new constitution seems to be the surest way to achieve his stated goal: to end political domination by the white minority without replacing it with domination by the black majority. August 7, 1990 The A.N.C. announced that it has ordered the immediate suspension of its guerrilla campaign against apartheid, which started in the early 1960s. December 20, 1991 Negotiations begin to prepare an interim constitution based on full political equality. Mr. de Klerk and Mr. Mandela exchanging ideas, ending with Mr. de Klerk criticizing Mr. Mandela for not disbanding the A.N.C.’s inactive guerrilla operation and Mr. Mandela saying that the president “has very little idea of what democracy is.” April 27, 1994 General voting opens in the first election in South African history that includes black participation. When the voting concludes on April 29, the A.N.C. has won more than 62 percent of the vote, earning 252 of the 400 seats in Parliament's National Assembly. Mr. Mandela is chosen as president without opposition. |
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