Botha to consider giving vote to Coloureds, Asians

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 9

Botha to consider giving vote to Coloureds, Asians

NZPA-Reuter Johannesburg r Despite a determined assault from both ends of South Africa's white political scale, the Prime Minister (Mr Pieter Botha) has a powerful to carry on with his policies in this raciallj’-divided country. After final results of the General Election for 165 seats in the House of Assembly were announced yesterday. Mr Botha's ' National Party had taken 131 seats, only three less than its record showing of 1977. The official Opposition Progressive Federal Party increased its representation from 18 to 26 and the small New Republic Party took eight seats. The ultra-Right-wing Herstigte Nasionale Party, which campaigned to maintain all aspects of apartheid, failed to win its first parliamentary seat, but quadrupled its share of the popular vote with some 190.000 out of a total poll of more than 1.25 million. Mr Botha, who has pledged to eliminate elements of apartheid but has not spelt out precisely what he plans,

told reporters he did not feel there had been a strong swing to the Left or Right. “We have been in power 33 years and are still maintaining a two-thirds majority.'’ Mr Botha said. "That is quite an achievement. “The Opposition cannot prescribe to us what our pace should be.” Frederik van zyl Slabbert, the charismatic leader of the Progressive Federal Partv, was delighted with his party's showing and reaffirmed, “We stand for systematic reform away from (racial) discrimination.” Dr Slabbert said the message from the electorate was that the Prime Minister “must get off his seat and give the country a clear lead towards systematic reform.” A spokesman for the Herstigte Nasionale party said the Right-wingers were highly satisfied with their share of the vote. The Coloured (mixed race) Labour Party, part of more than 20 million non-whites who do not have the vote, said whites had given the Prime Minister a mandate for change.

The Associated Press reported that the first test of the Prime Minister's vow to push racial reform, despite large election gains by ultraRightist former National Party men. will be the issue of Coloured voting rights, party insiders say. Parliament reconvenes on July 31, and Mr Botha confirmed on national television that political rights for the country's 2.5 million Coloured (mixed race) and 750,000 Asian people will be given a top priority. “We are going to inspire the President’s Council to come forward with proper possible for them and we will deal with them on merit,” Mr Botha said. Mr Botha set up the council. which includes whites, Asians, and Coloureds, to study whether these nonwhites should be given the vote, either with whites or on a separate voters' roll. Mr Botha's supporters believe these non-whites must be enlisted on the side of whites or they will move solidly into the camp of the 20 million politically powerless blacks.