All Will Be Watching the South African Vote : De Klerk puts it all on the line, calls apartheid referendum

In a move whose audacity and logic all but characterized his presidency of South Africa, Frederik W. de Klerk has called for a white referendum on his government’s program to end apartheid and transform the racially divided nation into a non-racial democracy.

White South Africans will soon face a simple but historic choice. They can hand De Klerk the broad mandate he needs to negotiate effectively with the African National Congress and other organizations; or they can vote for the pro-apartheid Conservative Party--and for a shameful return to isolation from world markets, sports competition and cultural events and condemnation as the last bastion of an indefensible race-based political system.

What will it be? More progress? Or more isolation? A chance for peace? Or a guarantee of black unrest?

De Klerk, a champion of change, seeks this vote of confidence in the aftermath of an embarrassing political defeat in a special election held to fill a vacancy in Parliament. The governing National Party lost a seat that it had held since it came to power 44 years ago. The winner was its political nemesis, the pro-apartheid and right-wing Conservative Party.

Like politicians all over the world, Conservative leaders immediately seized on their victory, saying it was proof that De Klerk no longer speaks for the majority of nearly 5 million white South Africans. The referendum must prove them wrong.

Although De Klerk’s National Party still controls Parliament and the government, the president took the loss personally because he attended law school in the district where the election was held. In truth, many factors other than race figured in the loss. Like New Hampshire, where conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan benefited from a tide of disaffection with an incumbent President, South Africa has many problems--a serious recession, growing crime and rising unemployment. Perhaps South Africa’s recent decision to lay off 400 teachers in the district--home to many schools and colleges--influenced the vote.

De Klerk is willing to put his leadership to a national test before the end of March--and before the start of the second round of constitutional negotiations. If he loses, he promises to step down, although he need not call an election for two years.

If voters rebuff De Klerk, South Africa will have lost more than just another politician. He and Nelson Mandela, deputy president of the African National Congress, continue to represent the best hope for negotiated reform and a united South Africa.

The ANC and other black organizations angrily oppose a referendum that they fear could turn back the clock and halt the dismantling of apartheid. Their anger is understandable; the white referendum is yet another reminder that 29 million black South Africans do not have the right to vote in their own country. Strident opposition, however, will only help the Conservative Party in its effort to maintain a separate and unequal South Africa.