Day of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners of South Africa

The United Nations General Assembly proclaims October 11 as the Day of Solidarity with the Political Prisoners of South Africa (November 9, 1976, resolution 31/6 C).

The release of Nelson Mandela in 1990, after 27 years of imprisonment, and the successive election as head of state, decreed the end of apartheid.

The 1994 elections resulted in the overwhelming victory of the African National Congress (ANC), with 62.65% of the votes, but below the threshold of 66.7% (i.e. the two thirds) that would have allowed to modify the constitution and since then it has ruled the country uninterruptedly, first with Nelson Mandela, then with Thabo Mbeki, and successively with Kgalema Motlanthe. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up in 1995, has been collecting testimonies on human rights violations and has granted amnesty to those who spontaneously and fully confessed to the crimes committed under the orders of the government.

Post-apartheid South Africa, by adding nine African languages, brought the total number of official languages to eleven. Another gesture of the new government was the decommissioning of the South African arsenal.

The election anniversary of April 27 is celebrated as a public holiday for South Africa, known as Freedom Day.