1960 South African republic referendum

South African republic referendum 5 October 1960
Are you in favour of a Republic for the Union?
Results Votes  % Yes 850,458 52.29% No 775,878 47.71% Valid votes 1,626,336 99.52% Invalid or blank votes 7,904 0.48% Total votes 1,634,240 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 1,800,426 90.77%
Results by province   Yes   No

A referendum on becoming a republic was held in South Africa on 5 October 1960. The Afrikaner-dominated right-wing National Party, which had come to power in 1948, was avowedly republican, and regarded the position of Queen Elizabeth II as head of state as a relic of British imperialism. The National Party government subsequently organised the referendum on whether the then Union of South Africa should become a republic. The vote, which was restricted to whites, was narrowly approved by 52.29% of the voters. The Republic of South Africa was constituted on 31 May 1961.

Background

Prior to the referendum, H.F. Verwoerd — Prime Minister of South Africa since 1958 — lowered the voting age for whites to 18, and had also included the white voters of the ex-German colony of South West Africa, now Namibia, on the electoral roll. Afrikaners, who were more likely to favour a republic than English-speaking white South Africans, were also on average younger than them, with a higher birth rate. Similarly in South West Africa, the Afrikaners and German-speaking whites outnumbered English-speaking members.

Whites in the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State voted decisively in favour, as did those in South West Africa. In the Cape Province there was a smaller majority, while Natal, which had an English-speaking majority of whites, voted against. Following the referendum result, some whites in Natal even called for secession from the Union. Five years previous, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic.

The opposition United Party actively campaigned for a 'No' vote, while the smaller Progressive Party appealed to supporters of the proposed change to 'reject this republic', arguing that South Africa's membership of the Commonwealth, with which it had privileged trade links, would be threatened.

Results

Are you in favour of a Republic for the Union? (English)
Is u ten gunste van 'n Republiek vir die Unie? (Afrikaans)

Choice	Votes	%
For	850,458	52.29
Against	775,878	47.71
Invalid/blank votes	7,904	–
Total	1,634,240	100
Registered voters/turnout	1,800,426	90.77
Source: Direct Democracy

By province

Province	For		Against		Invalid/ blank	Total	Registered voters	Turnout
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Cape of Good Hope	271,418	50.15	269,784	49.85	2,881	544,083	591,298	92.02
Natal	42,299	23.78	135,598	76.22	688	178,585	193,103	92.48
Orange Free State	110,171	76.72	33,438	23.28	798	144,407	160,843	89.78
South-West Africa	19,938	62.39	12,017	37.61	280	32,235	37,135	86.80
Transvaal	406,632	55.58	325,041	44.42	3,257	734,930	818,047	89.84
Source: Direct Democracy

Aftermath

The National Party had not ruled out continued membership in the Commonwealth after the country became a republic, but the Commonwealth by now included new Asian and African members who saw the apartheid state's membership as an affront to the organisation's new democratic principles. Consequently, South Africa left the Commonwealth on becoming a republic.

At the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference held after the referendum, Dr. Verwoerd raised the issue of continued membership after South Africa became a republic. This should not have caused too many problems, as India maintained its Commonwealth membership despite becoming a republic in 1950, but Verwoerd stirred up a confrontation, causing many members to threaten to withdraw if South Africa's renewal of membership application was accepted.

As a result, Verwoerd's plan worked, membership application was withdrawn, meaning that upon its becoming a republic South Africa's Commonwealth membership simply lapsed. Many Afrikaners welcomed this as a clean break with the colonial past. When the Republic of South Africa was declared on 31 May 1961, Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state, and the last Governor General of the Union, Charles R. Swart, took office as the first State President.

Other symbolic changes also occurred:

• Legal references to the Crown were replaced by those to the State.
• Queen's Counsels became known as Senior Counsels.
• The Crown was removed from the badges of the military and police.
• The Royal title was dropped from the names of some South African Army regiments, such as the Natal Carbineers. However, some institutions retained the Royal title, such as the Royal Natal National Park and the Royal Society of South Africa

Other references to the monarchy had been removed before the establishment of a republic; in 1952, the title of South African Navy vessels HMSAS (His Majesty's South African Ship) was changed to SAS (South African Ship), and in 1959 the Crown in the SAN cap badge was replaced with the Lion of Nassau from the crest of the country's coat of arms.

The new decimalised currency, the Rand, which did not feature the Queen's portrait on either notes or coinage, had already been introduced before the establishment of the Republic.

However, the only notable difference between the Constitution of the Republic and that of the Union was that the State President was the ceremonial head of state, in place of the Queen and Governor-General.

The National Party decided against having an executive presidency, instead adopting a minimalist approach, as a conciliatory gesture to English-speaking whites who were opposed to a republic; the office did not become an executive post until 1984. Similarly, the Union Flag remained a feature of the Flag of South Africa until 1994, despite its unpopularity among many Afrikaners.

External links

• The making of a nation: South Africa's road to freedom