1977 South African general election

1977 South African general election

← 1974 30 November 1977 1981 →
164 of the 165 seats in the House of Assembly 83 seats needed for a majority
Registered	2,193,635
Turnout	48.52% ( 3.35pp)
First party Second party Third party   NRP Leader B. J. Vorster Colin Eglin Radclyffe Cadman Party National Progressive New Republic Last election 56.14%, 122 seats 6.37%, 6 seats 32.84%, 41 seats[a] Seats won 134 17 10 Seat change 12 11 31 Popular vote 685,035 177,705 127,335 Percentage 65.34% 16.95% 12.15% Swing 9.20pp 10.58pp 20.69pp
Prime Minister before election B. J. Vorster National Elected Prime Minister B. J. Vorster National

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General elections were held in South Africa on 30 November 1977. The National Party, led by B. J. Vorster won a landslide victory in the House of Assembly. The newly formed Progressive Federal Party, led by Colin Eglin became the official opposition. The New Republic Party, successor to the United Party, won only 10 seats,^[1] all but one of them in Natal Province. Once again, the Herstigte Nasionale Party failed to win any seats.

In the 1977 elections, the National Party received its best-ever result with support of 65% of the vote and (after a by-election) 135 seats in parliament out of 165. However, Vorster resigned as prime minister for alleged health reasons on 28 September 1978.

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