Back Suid-Afrikaanse referendum van 1960 Afrikaans Referendum in Südafrika 1960 German Referéndum republicano de Sudáfrica de 1960 Spanish همهپرسی ۱۹۶۰ آفریقای جنوبی Persian Etelä-Afrikan kansanäänestys tasavaltalaisesta perustuslaista 1960 Finnish Référendum sud-africain de 1960 French 1960-as dél-afrikai népszavazás Hungarian Zuid-Afrikaans referendum 1960 Dutch Folkeavstemningen i Sør-Afrika i 1960 NB Folkomröstningen om införandet av republik i Sydafrika 1960 Swedish
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Are you in favour of a Republic for the Union? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 the South African monarch as a relic of British imperialism.[1] 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—the first such national election in the union—was narrowly approved by 52.29% of the voters.[2][3] The Republic of South Africa was constituted on 31 May 1961.
- ^ South Africa: A War Won, TIME, 9 June 1961
- ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1975-76, J. Paxton, 1976, Macmillan, page 1289
- ^ "Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd". South African History Online. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
On 5 October 1960 a referendum was held in which White voters were asked "Do you support a republic for the Union?" — 52 percent voted 'Yes'.