The Day Apartheid Died: South Africa’s First Multiracial Elections

South Africans of all races lining up to vote during the historic 1994 elections

What Happened?

For almost 50 years, apartheid legalized the theft of dignity, freedom, and opportunity from South Africa’s Black majority. But on this day, millions stood shoulder to shoulder at the polls, braving heat, hardship, and sabotage to seize a future that for so long had been denied.

Nelson Mandela, once imprisoned for sabotage against the white minority government, led the African National Congress to victory with a platform of reconciliation, peace, and hope. His inauguration just weeks later marked a radical turning point not only for South Africa, but for the global struggle against systemic racism.

The election was chaotic: polling stations lacked ballots, voters waited for hours, and confusion reigned—especially in areas like KwaZulu-Natal, where political tensions ran high. Yet through the disarray, South Africans persevered, driven by a determination to finally, lawfully, shape their own destiny.

When the old apartheid flag came down at midnight, replaced by a vibrant Y-shaped swirl of color, it wasn’t just a symbol—it was a profound rebuke to centuries of imperialism, division, and hate. A divided country found its fragile but fierce beginning as a democracy.

Mandela’s victory proved that nations could pivot from injustice to healing—not by forgetting pain, but by facing it with courage and grace. His leadership—and the people’s triumph—reverberate today, whenever and wherever democracy is under siege.

Why It Matters

South Africa’s first free election showed the world that peaceful revolution was not only possible but powerful. It reminded us that even the deepest wounds can heal—and that the future is written not by tyrants, but by those who refuse to give up their right to vote, to live, and to be fully seen.

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Dig Deeper

Journalists are often said to have a front row seat to history and this was the case for these three South Africans on 27 April 1994. Twenty-two years on, they reflect on the first democratic elections.

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