The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly

Date: 29 Apr 1981
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Assembly on 29 April 1981, voters returned the National Party (NP) to power, albeit with a reduced majority in the House of Assembly compared to previous elections . The opposition party, Progressive Federal Party (PFP) gained considerable ground right-wing opposition groups, led by the Herstigte Nasionale Party (HNP; Reconstituted National Party), increased their votes more than five times their previous total , but gained no seats. The election was the 18th general election since South Africa since the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910.

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How we know this

01Kalley, J.A.; Schoeman, E. & Andor, L.E. (eds)(1999), Southern African Political History: a chronology of key political events from independence to mid-1997, Westport: Greenwood.
02O’Malley, P.‘1981’, from the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, [online], Available at www.nelsonmandela.org [Accessed: 25 April 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012453

South African History Online (2011) 'The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012453 (Accessed: 26 August 2026).

South African History Online, The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012453, (accessed 26 August 2026).

"The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012453. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The Nationalist Party wins election with a reduced majority in the National Assembly." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012453.