World History Moment: South African Elections

Long lines of people queue outside a polling station to cast their votes in South Africa’s
Long lines of people queue outside a polling station to cast their votes in South Africa's first all-race elections on April 27, 1994, in the Soweto township southwest of Johannesburg. Since, the achievements and soaring expectations of what was dubbed a “rainbow nation” have been tempered by a different inequality - the yawning gulf between rich and poor. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)
Long lines of people queue outside a polling station to cast their votes in South Africa’s
Long lines of people queue outside a polling station to cast their votes in South Africa's first all-race elections on April 27, 1994, in the Soweto township southwest of Johannesburg. Since, the achievements and soaring expectations of what was dubbed a “rainbow nation” have been tempered by a different inequality - the yawning gulf between rich and poor. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell, File)

World History Moment: South African Elections

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

South Africa’s first ever election with universal suffrage was held on April 27, 1994.

It was the product of a long battle, starting with the abolition of the policy of apartheid that the South African government adopted in 1948. 

Historian John R. Schmidt tells us how the country avoided a civil war and elected its first black president, Nelson Mandela.