The majority African population group was however still excluded, their interests notionally represented in the governments of the black homelands, or "bantustans", of which they were formally citizens.

The Tricameral Parliament can trace its origin back to 1981, when the Senate was replaced with the President's Council (Afrikaans: Presidentsraad), which was an advisory body consisting of sixty nominated members from the White, Coloured, Indian, and Chinese[1] population groups.

However, Botha continued to be in favour of implementing the President's Council proposal, and, in 1983, the NP government introduced a new constitutional framework.

[2] However, many PFP followers and parts of the anti-government English-language press supported the new constitution as "a step in the right direction".

The United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed by a number of (mainly pro-African National Congress) community organisations and trade unions to oppose and boycott these elections.

[5] Each of these three chambers had power over the "own affairs" (as it was termed) of the population group it represented, such as education, social welfare, housing, local government, arts, culture and recreation.

Although ostensibly based on population figures, the numerical composition of the electoral college and the President's Council meant that the white chamber could not be outvoted on any substantive issue.

Botha's government stripped blacks of their South African citizenship and legally considered them citizens of the homelands, in which they were expected to exercise their political rights.