ANC rejects National Party proposal for a new constitution

In a strongly worded statement, the African National Congress rejected the constitutional proposals by the National Party calling it a 'recipe for disaster'. President F. W. de Klerk had presented the constitutional proposal to a federal party congress in Bloemfontein, stating that the proposal demonstrated the party's opposition to any domination of any kind. However the ANC rejected the proposal on the grounds that, it entrenched minority privileges by ensuring that any majority party becomes powerless because it gave the three biggest parties irrespective of the proportion of the vote, equal representation. The ANC favoured elections based on the principle of proportional representation, the NP's proposal was unclear as to what the 'bill of rights' would contain, the freedom given to Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei to choose whether, they wanted to be incorporated into the new South Africa, whereas the ANC was adamant that the TBVC states should be re-incorporated into SA, the appointment of Cabinet Ministers by consensus which the ANC was opposed to as it went against the spirit of democratic process. The ANC warned that such a proposal would make the country "wholly ungovernable". Other parties such as the Democratic Party and Inkatha Freedom Party supported the proposal, the Conservative Party said the Party was calling for a revolution in the manner it designed the proposal whilst the Pan Africanist Party said it was transferring the struggle from race to class and as such Whites would do everything to stay in power against the wishes of the Majority. Read the ANC's response to the IFPs constitutional proposals or click here to read more on the ANC's view on the constitutional-making process.