The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.

In 1948, the newly elected National Party government in South Africa began to institute apartheid, an institutionalized system of racial segregation that placed sociopolitical dominance in the hands of the European-descended white minority.

[3] In 1983, P. W. Botha's government approved a new constitution, which implemented a Tricameral Parliament, with additional houses representing the Coloured and Indian populations.

On 2 February 1990, de Klerk made a speech at the opening of Parliament in Cape Town, in which he unexpectedly announced his intention to unban anti-apartheid groups such as the ANC, SACP and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), to release political prisoners such as ANC leader Nelson Mandela and requested a process of negotiation with the anti-apartheid opposition.

On 6 August, the government and ANC issued a further joint declaration, known as the Pretoria Minute, in which the ANC and its armed wing, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) agreed to the suspension of armed activities, in exchange for the government lifting of the State of Emergency (then only active in Natal Province), further release of political prisoners from September 1990, and a review of certain provisions of the Internal Security Act.

[12] On 30 November 1991, 19 organisations announced that the first meeting of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) would be held in Johannesburg on 20 and 21 December 1991, in order to discuss constitutional arrangements.

[13] The CODESA 1 plenary session saw all participating groups, except for the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the government of the Bophuthatswana homeland, agree to a declaration of intent on establishing a united South Africa with common citizenship for all racial groups, and to promote peaceful political participation so that constitutional change could be advanced.

[17] In response to the failure of negotiations, the ANC announced a campaign of "rolling mass action", encompassing public protests and strikes in order to pressure the government to meet its demands.

The talks culminated in the official Record of Understanding between the ANC and the government on the 26 September, recognizing agreements reached between the two in meetings.

[25] In October 1992, the IFP initiated the formation of the Concerned South Africans Group (COSAG) alongside the bantustan governments of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei and the white pro-apartheid Conservative Party, in protest at its alleged sidelining during the negotiation process, and in order to ensure its representation among factions other than the national government and the anti-apartheid opposition.

Bophuthatswana and Ciskei continued participation until withdrawing in October, upon which COSAG was replaced with the Freedom Alliance, incorporating additional far-right elements.

[26] After initially announcing a boycott due to constitutional disagreements, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) reversed its decision on 19 April, days before the election.

In 1997, on the adoption of the final Constitution, the Senate became the National Council of Provinces; its political makeup remained the same, but members were divided into permanent and special delegates, as described in the following table.