Party of apartheid takes its final bow

The party linked to decades of white racist rule in South Africa formally departed the political stage today, with its leader apologising for ”a system grounded in injustice.”

The New National Party – the successor to the National Party that led apartheid – approved its dissolution at a meeting of its federal executive in Johannesburg. This followed a decision, taken last April after a humiliating defeat in national elections, to join forces with the ruling African National Congress.