Paul Weinberg: Thirty Years of Democracy: The 1994 Elections Portfolio
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Nelson Mandela votes for the first time in his life, Ohlange High School, KwaZulu-Natal, 1994, 2024
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'This vivid portfolio provides a unique insider’s insight into how the elections unfolded, and reminds us of the idealism and commitment of the heady days of 1994.'
Judge Johann Kriegler (Chairperson of the 1994 Independent Electoral Commission)
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'My prevailing sentiment was one of gratitude to the political leadership for their steadfastness, to the people for their forbearance, and to everyone for making it work.'
Judge Kriegler
Bophuthatswana had been the site of a televised massacre of white AWB terrorists who entered Bophuthatswana in order to support Mangope’s fight to remain independent. Kriegler’s task, as head of the IEC, was to inform Mangope that his own apartheid-backed fiefdom was over. The image captures the moment that Mangope, who sits beside Kriegler head hands, realises that his rule is effectively over.
But it was not simply the likes of the IFP, Mangope, and the AWB that threatened to destabilise the election. Many who had been life-long supporters of the National Party now came out of the wood work to defame their leaders.
Weinberg captured this with his image of a white woman
standing defiantly at an oil drum, an effigy of FW de Klerk, and an ANC flag burning within. A group of apartheid-era thugs stand in unison around a bonfire of their nemeses.
Another image catches that strangest of strange moments, FW de Klerk canvassing for votes in Soweto. To add to the incongruity of the event, the hand of a Soweto resident rises behind him, signalling V for victory. Whose victory, however, remains unclear.
But not all whites had stood for apartheid. Helen Suzman had, in many ways, been the lone voice against apartheid inside the white parliament. Weinberg captures her dedicated bravery, as a commissioner for the IEC, visiting the violence-torn Katlehong.
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Photographs