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Nine provinces, two ballots

How the country voted, place by place

The national ballot shows where each party’s parliamentary vote came from. A second ballot, cast at the same time, chose the provincial legislatures. The two should not be mixed up.

The names on the 1994 returns

The interim constitution created nine provinces out of the Cape, Natal, the Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and the homelands. Some of the names used on the 1994 returns were later changed. This page uses the 1994 name first.

Province names at the election, and the names used now.
On the 1994 returnsName now
Eastern CapeEastern Cape
Eastern TransvaalMpumalanga, from 1995
KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal. Some returns wrote “Kwazulu Natal”, and the constitution’s seat schedule still said Natal.
Northern CapeNorthern Cape
Northern TransvaalNorthern Province from 1995, then Limpopo from 2003
North WestNorth West
Orange Free StateFree State, from 28 June 1995
PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging)Gauteng, from 28 June 1995
Western CapeWestern Cape

Share of the national ballot

These are votes for the National Assembly, counted in the province where they were cast. A voter was not tied to a home district, so this is a map of where ballots were put in the box, not a perfect census of residents. The three columns are the parties that won seats nationally in more than one region. Everyone else is in the remainder.

National Assembly ballot by province, 26–29 April 1994. Percentages are of valid votes in that province. The nine valid-vote totals sum to 19,533,498.
Province in 1994 Valid votes ANC NP IFP Leading party
Eastern Cape2,857,71084.39%10.60%0.24%ANC
Eastern Transvaal1,309,99381.87%10.27%1.59%ANC
KwaZulu-Natal3,750,60631.61%15.76%48.59%IFP
Northern Cape404,57949.81%41.94%0.47%ANC
Northern Transvaal1,919,79092.73%3.64%0.15%ANC
North West1,588,25583.46%10.10%0.45%ANC
Orange Free State1,368,25177.42%14.53%0.62%ANC
PWV4,208,30159.10%27.58%4.13%ANC
Western Cape2,126,01333.60%56.24%0.65%NP

The underlying votes, not only the percentages, are in the source note. They reconcile to the national party totals for the ANC (12,237,655), the National Party (3,983,690) and the IFP (2,058,294).

Who won the provincial legislatures

Legislature seats came from the provincial ballot, not from the table above. Across the nine provinces, 425 seats were filled: ANC 266, National Party 82, IFP 44, Freedom Front 14, Democratic Party 12, PAC 3, ACDP 3, and the Minority Front 1.

Seats in the provincial legislatures elected in April 1994. A dash means the party did not win a seat there. Premiers took office in May 1994.
Province Seats ANC NP IFP FF DP Others Premier
Eastern Cape56486001PAC 1Raymond Mhlaba, ANC
Eastern Transvaal30253020—Mathews Phosa, ANC
KwaZulu-Natal812694102PAC 1, ACDP 1, MF 1Frank Mdlalose, IFP
Northern Cape301512021—Manne Dipico, ANC
Northern Transvaal40381010—Ngoako Ramatlhodi, ANC
North West30263010—Popo Molefe, ANC
Orange Free State30244020—Mosiuoa Lekota, ANC
PWV865021355PAC 1, ACDP 1Tokyo Sexwale, ANC
Western Cape421423013ACDP 1Hernus Kriel, NP
All provinces42526682441412PAC 3, ACDP 3, MF 1

The ANC had an outright majority in the Eastern Cape, Eastern Transvaal, Northern Transvaal, North West, the Orange Free State and the PWV. In the Northern Cape it had 15 of 30 seats: the largest party, and able to elect a premier, but not a majority on its own. The National Party had a majority in the Western Cape, 23 of 42. The IFP had a majority of one in KwaZulu-Natal, 41 of 81. On the national ballot in that province the IFP led with 48.59 percent, short of half. The provincial ballot was a little stronger for Inkatha, enough for 41 seats.

Three results that shaped the story

KwaZulu-Natal

The hardest province to bring into the election, and the only one Inkatha won. Frank Mdlalose, a doctor and IFP negotiator, became premier. The ANC, with 26 of 81 seats, entered the provincial executive under the unity rules.

IFP48.59%
ANC31.61%
NP15.76%

Shares of the national ballot cast in the province.

Western Cape

The National Party’s clearest win, 56.24 percent of the national ballot cast in the province and 23 of 42 legislature seats. Hernus Kriel became premier. The ANC was second, on 33.60 percent.

NP56.24%
ANC33.60%

Northern Cape

The closest of the ANC provinces on the national ballot: 49.81 percent to the National Party’s 41.94. In the legislature the ANC had half the seats, 15 of 30, and Manne Dipico became premier.

ANC49.81%
NP41.94%

Northern Transvaal

The ANC’s strongest provincial share on the national ballot, 92.73 percent, and 38 of 40 legislature seats. Ngoako Ramatlhodi became premier. The province was later renamed Limpopo.

ANC92.73%
Illustrative photograph of a gravel road across red semi-desert
Illustration. The Northern Cape cast the smallest share of the national vote, 404,579 valid ballots, and produced the closest large-party contest.
Illustrative photograph of fynbos shrubs and a flat-topped mountain
Illustration. The Western Cape was the National Party’s strongest province.