South Africa’s first democratic election took place in a festive atmosphere, despite fears of political violence. It was the first election in which all South Africans, registered on a common voters’ roll, could vote. One of the major challenges for the election process was the late entry of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the party has threatened to boycott the election, demanding autonomy for the Zulu king, greater provincial powers and provincial ballots. After some tough negotiations, it decided to join the process, but only after all the ballot papers had been printed. The IEC then decided to have stickers with the IFP’s details printer, to be individually stuck to each ballot paper. This work was given to mainly overseas printers, but one local company was also contracted. The owner called the John Berks Show to reveal just what a challenge it has been.

Aired 26 April 1994