The resulting government, dependent on South African approval for all its legislation, was in power until its dissolution in 1983.
The constitution was approved in a Whites-only referendum in 1977 but never enacted, due to pressure by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
[7] However, the level of support of SWAPO's political programme and war effort within the general population was unclear,[8] which cast some doubt on the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 1972 decision to accept SWAPO as the "sole representative of Namibia's people".
Encouraged by a voter turnout that high, the DTA subsequently claimed that it enjoyed a greater degree of popular support than SWAPO.
The DTA won the elections by a landslide, gaining 41 of the 50 seats in the National Assembly and the chairmanship of the ministerial council, to which Dirk Mudge was appointed.
[14] The MPC suggested in its April 1985 Bill of Fundamental Rights and Objectives the establishment of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TNGU).