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Botha Slates South Africa Election in ’89 : After Party Struggle, He Orders Dissolution of Parliament in May

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From Times Wire Services

President Pieter W. Botha announced today that general elections will be held this year and ordered Parliament dissolved at the end of May, signaling the end of his 10-year reign after a power struggle within the ruling National Party.

Botha, 73, issued the announcement in his first address to a joint session of Parliament since suffering a stroke Jan. 18 that forced him to surrender leadership of the National Party, and ultimately prompted demands that he step aside as president to make way for a younger leader.

Will Pick ‘Appropriate’ Day

He said he will order Parliament dissolved “on an appropriate day” at the end of May, setting in motion the process for general elections.

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According to the constitution, an election must be held within 180 days of the dissolution of Parliament--a tricameral body that has separate houses for the white, mixed-race, or colored, and Indian populations but excludes the black majority.

The life of the present Parliament expires in September, and Botha indicated that an election will be held about that time.

At the first session of the newly constituted Parliament, a state president will be elected. Assuming that the National Party, which has ruled the country for 40 years, wins a majority in the election, the next president is expected to be Frederik W. de Klerk.

De Klerk, elected National Party leader Feb. 2 after Botha’s resignation from the post, mounted a strong challenge to his decision to retain the presidency and separate the two most powerful positions in the land.

Botha bucked the challenge and last month ruled out an early election. He retreated only after a unanimous endorsement of De Klerk’s bid by the National Party--the architect of the apartheid laws in South Africa that have denied 27 million blacks a voice in the affairs of government.

More Open-Minded

De Klerk, 53, has yet to break with any of Botha’s major policies, but he is widely considered more pragmatic and open-minded than the president and thus more likely to initiate negotiations with major black leaders.

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In a speech to Parliament after becoming party leader, De Klerk called for a South Africa “free of domination and oppression.”

However, he has also reaffirmed the party’s commitment to segregated schools and neighborhoods for whites who want them.

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