[2][3] As part of the multi-party negotiations that ended apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) pushed for the creation of a body that would ensure a level playing field, arguing that the governing National Party would not be impartial, as it would also be contesting the election.

[3] The TEC was created by the Transitional Executive Council Act, 1993, and consisted of one member of each of the parties that participated in the negotiations, with the notable exceptions of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC); and the Freedom Alliance, an alliance of right-wing and black groups such as the Inkatha Freedom Party who had abandoned the negotiation process.

The subcouncils focused on particular areas, such as stability and security, intelligence, and law and order, with members appointed because of specific expertise, and they received instructions from the TEC.

[3] TEC subcouncils had the power to curtail government actions, to access information relevant to their purposes, and to review and reject legislation passed by the Tricameral Parliament of South Africa, and the Bantustans if it deemed that these laws would hamper the attainment of democratic elections.

[3] Although State President F. W. De Klerk downplayed the role of the TEC after its first sitting on 7 December 1993, Cyril Ramaphosa, who represented the ANC on the body, said that it marked the end of minority rule in South Africa.