The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) was a multiparty body in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

that was established by law to facilitate the transition to democracy, in the lead-up to the country's first non-racial election in April 1994. As part of the multi-party negotiations that ended apartheid, the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC) pushed for the creation of a body that would ensure a level playing field, arguing that the governing National Party would not be impartial, as it would also be contesting the election. The TEC was created by the Transitional Executive Council Act, 1993, and consisted of one member of each of the parties that participated in the negotiations, with the notable exceptions of the

Pan Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Robert Sobukwe, that ...

(PAC); and the Freedom Alliance, an alliance of right-wing and black groups such as the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founde ...

who had abandoned the negotiation process. The TEC consisted of 19 people, one each from the 19 groups that participated in the negotiations, and it had a number of subcouncils. The subcouncils focused on particular areas, such as stability and security, intelligence, and law and order, with members appointed because of specific expertise, and they received instructions from the TEC. TEC subcouncils had the power to curtail government actions, to access information relevant to their purposes, and to review and reject legislation passed by the Tricameral Parliament of South Africa, and the

Bantustans A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now ...

if it deemed that these laws would hamper the attainment of democratic elections. Although

State President The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...

F. W. De Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South ...

downplayed the role of the TEC after its first sitting on 7 December 1993,

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

, who represented the ANC on the body, said that it marked the end of minority rule in South Africa. The TEC was the first time that black South Africans played a major role in the governance of the country, and among its actions was the dismissal of the

Ciskei Ciskei (, or ) was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian O ...

government, after its collapse in March 1994, and the appointment of two administrators for the territory, and it took control of

Boputhatswana Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for mem ...

, along with the South African government, after the government of

Lucas Mangope Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope (27 December 1923 – 18 January 2018) was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free State – what is now Free State – and North W ...

refused to give assurances that it would permit free and fair elections in the territory.

References

External links

"Transitional Executive Council Act, 1993"
Democratization Peace processes 1993 establishments in South Africa 1994 disestablishments in South Africa Political history of South Africa Government of South Africa Defunct organisations based in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-gov-stub