1960 South African republic referendum
E545232
The 1960 South African republic referendum was a whites-only vote that narrowly approved transforming the Union of South Africa into a republic, paving the way for the 1961 Constitution and South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| South African republic referendum, 1960 | 1 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
political event
ⓘ
referendum ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | South African republic referendum of 1960 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| calledBy | Hendrik Verwoerd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| campaignIssue |
continued membership of the Commonwealth
ⓘ
relationship with the British monarchy ⓘ |
| constitutionalChange | replacement of the Union of South Africa with the Republic of South Africa ⓘ |
| constitutionalStatusAfter | republic outside the Commonwealth ⓘ |
| constitutionalStatusBefore | constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth ⓘ |
| continent | Africa ⓘ |
| country | Union of South Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| date | 1960-10-05 ⓘ |
| electorate | white voters only ⓘ |
| excludedGroup |
Black South Africans
ⓘ
Coloured South Africans NERFINISHED ⓘ Indian South Africans NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| followedBy | proclamation of the Republic of South Africa on 1961-05-31 ⓘ |
| franchise | whites-only vote ⓘ |
| headOfGovernmentAtTime | Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext | period of increasing international criticism of apartheid ⓘ |
| languageOfBallot |
Afrikaans
ⓘ
English ⓘ |
| ledTo |
1961 Constitution of South Africa
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth of Nations ⓘ proclamation of the Republic of South Africa ⓘ |
| legalBasis | South African constitutional law of the Union period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| location | South Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainOpponentParty | United Party NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainProponentParty | National Party NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| marginOfVictory | approximately 4.58 percentage points ⓘ |
| monarchAtTime | Queen Elizabeth II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| noPercentage | 47.71% ⓘ |
| noVotes | 775878 ⓘ |
| organizedBy | Government of the Union of South Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| outcome | approval of transforming the Union of South Africa into a republic ⓘ |
| precededBy | Sharpeville massacre NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| proposedBy | National Party government NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| question | whether the Union of South Africa should become a republic ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
1961 Constitution of South Africa
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations NERFINISHED ⓘ apartheid ⓘ |
| result | approved ⓘ |
| subject | establishment of a Republic of South Africa ⓘ |
| tookPlaceDuring | apartheid era in South Africa ⓘ |
| totalVotes | 1626336 ⓘ |
| voterTurnout | 90.75% ⓘ |
| year | 1960 ⓘ |
| yesPercentage | 52.29% ⓘ |
| yesVotes | 850458 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
Governor-General of the Union of South Africa
→
abolishedFollowing
→
1960 South African republic referendum
ⓘ
this entity surface form:
South African republic referendum, 1960