Inkatha to Boycott S. Africa Vote

The Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party decided Saturday to boycott the nation’s first all-race election, joining pro-apartheid whites in a move that could undermine the watershed vote.

But political leaders said there still was time to overcome disputes and get all groups to participate in the April 26-28 election.

None of the groups in the opposition Freedom Alliance had registered for the election by the midnight Saturday deadline, although President Frederik W. de Klerk has said Parliament could extend the deadline.

In resolutions passed Saturday, Inkatha’s central committee called for supporters to boycott the election and to oppose it “in any and every way which is permissible by law.”