WORLD : South Africans Cast Crucial Votes
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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The government held a general election today that measured white attitudes toward apartheid, specifically a proposal by the governing party to share limited power with blacks.
Hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised blacks staged a general strike capping nationwide protests of the parliamentary election. Factories, businesses, schools and transportation services closed down in major cities, where more than 90% of black workers and most students stayed home.
Acting President F. W. de Klerk smiled, shook hands and enjoyed a champagne breakfast at his Pretoria-area polling booth. Officials say the vote is the most crucial since the governing National Party came to power on promises of strict race segregation in 1948.
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