On the 16th of October 1993, the Norwegian Nobel Committee reported that two South Africans, Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, were the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 1993. The Norwegian Nobel Committee press further reported that they received the award jointly for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.
The year 1993 was one of the most difficult years in South Africa’s history of transition from apartheid to democracy. The year was characterised by heightened political intolerance, multiple false starts for negotiations and pervasive political violence that saw many South Africans from all walks losing their lives.
In October 1993, history was made with the signing of the Transitional Executive Council (TEC) Act that allowed each of the nineteen political parties that participated in the Multi-Party Negotiations to be represented on the Council paving the way for democracy.
Nelson Mandela's Nobel Peace Prize.
(Image: Nelson Mandela Foundation)This extract from the TEC Act no 1876 of 1993 highlights some of the important factors leading to free political campaigning:
The objectives of the Council shall be to facilitate and promote, in conjunction with all legislative and executive structures at all levels of government in South Africa, in preparation for the transition to a democratic order in South Africa by –
(a) creating and promoting a climate for free political participation by endeavouring to –
(i) eliminate any impediments to legitimate political activities;
(ii) eliminate any form of intimidation which has a bearing on the said transition;
(iii) ensure that all political parties are free to canvass support from voters and to organise and hold meetings and for those purposes have access to all voters;
(iv) ensure the full participation of women in the transitional and electoral structures and processes; and
(v) ensure that no Government or administration exercises any of its powers in such a way as to advantage or prejudice any political party;
(b) creating and promoting conditions conducive to the holding of free and fair elections;
(c) exercising such powers and performing such duties as may be conferred or imposed upon it by any other law.
Despite the major challenges faced by South Africa during the transition, there was progress towards the road to a free political climate with the establishment of the TEC.
In Oslo Nelson Mandela’s lecture on 10 December 1993 on accepting the Nobel Peace Prize recognised and acknowledged the role played by the various political parties from different traditions who participated in the negotiations which made the transition to democracy possible. He stated:
“We would also like to take advantage of this occasion to pay tribute to the many formations of the democratic movement of our country, including the members of our Patriotic Front, who have themselves played a central role in bringing our country as close to the democratic transformation as it is today.
“We are happy that many representatives of these formations, including people who have served or are serving in the “homeland” structures, came with us to Oslo. They too must share the accolade which the Nobel Peace Prize confers.’’
The TEC oversaw the process that led to the first democratic elections in April 1994 which resulted in Nelson Mandela being elected as the first president of South Africa in the democratic era.
In conclusion, 2023 marks thirty years since the two South African Nobel laureates received their prizes. It is also twenty-nine into democracy, but South Africa still grapples with several socioeconomic challenges. This, in turn, has caused an increase in violence attributed to a lack of employment opportunities for the greater South African youth. “We still have many hills to climb,” using Madiba’s phrase in the last paragraph of his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, “in reaching peace and prosperity for all of South Africa’s people.”