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During 1960 South Africa's white minority government held a referendum on whether or not the then Union of South Africa should sever its links with the British Crown and become a republic. The Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which came to power in 1948, was avowedly republican, and regarded South Africa's status as a Commonwealth realm as a relic of British imperialism.
Background
Prior to the referendum, Verwoerd had lowered the voting age for whites to 18, and had also included the white voters 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, having a higher birth rate. Similarly in South West Africa, the Afrikaners outnumbered English-speaking whites.
Whites in the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State voted decisively in favour, as did ones in South West Africa. In the Cape Province there was a smaller majority, while Natal, which had more English-speaking whites than Afrikaans-speaking ones, voted against. Some whites in Natal even called for secession from the Union, but this was never seriously considered. 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.
Result
The referendum was held during 1960 on request of the Prime Minister, Hendrik Verwoerd. On October 5, 1960, South Africa's whites were asked: Do you support a republic for the Union?
| 1960 Referendum | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yes or no | Votes | Percentage |
 Yes |
850,458 | 52.29% |
| No | 775,878 | 47.71% |
| Total votes | 1,626,336 | 100.00% |
Aftermath
The National Party had not ruled out continued membership in the Commonwealth after the country became a republic, but the Commonwealth now had new Asian and African members who saw the apartheid regime's membership as an affront to the organisation's democratic principles. Consequently, South Africa left the Commonwealth on becoming a republic.
Dr. Verwoerd pretended that he intended to maintain the Commonwealth membership. At a Commonwealth heads of government meeting held after the referendum, he raised the issue of his country becoming a republic. This should not have caused too many problems, as India maintained its Commonwealth membership despite becoming a republic in 1950, but Dr. 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 Dr. Verwoerd's plan worked, the membership application was withdrawn, meaning that when South Africa became a republic, its 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 May 31, 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.
- Her Majesty's South African Ships became known simply as South African Ships.
- 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.
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.
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