The UN Security Council passed Resolution 435 in 1978, which set out a plan for elections administered by South Africa but under UN supervision and control after a ceasefire.

As UNTAG began to deploy peacekeepers, military observers, police, and political workers, hostilities were briefly renewed on the day the transition process was supposed to begin.

The first skirmish between PLAN and the South African Defence Force (SADF) in what became known as the Namibian War of Independence took place on 26 August 1966 at Omugulugwombashe.

[6] Over the next few years, there followed a series of General Assembly resolutions concerning the territory including one, in 1968 renaming it Namibia, and many others condemning the South African occupation and calling for elections.

[8] On 30 January 1976 the Security Council adopted Resolution 385 which declared that it was imperative to hold free elections under UN supervision and control for the whole of Namibia as one political entity.

[9] Because South Africa did not initially accept the plan, the five Western members of the Security Council (the Contact Group) held a series of talks with the "Frontline States", SWAPO, South Africa and the UN Commissioner for Namibia, Martti Ahtisaari, until a "proposal for a settlement of the Namibian situation" was eventually agreed between the negotiators and presented to the Security Council on 10 April 1978.

Described as a "working arrangement" which would "in no way constitute recognition of the legality of the South African presence in and administration of Namibia", it allowed South Africa, through an Administrator-General designated by it, to administer elections, but under United Nations supervision and control exercised through a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who would be assisted by a "United Nations Transition Assistance Group" (UNTAG).

[11] Later in 1978, the UN Security Council approved a resolution with a specific, timetabled plan for SADF withdrawal and Namibian elections and authorized UNTAG, with a combined military and civilian force, to facilitate the transition to independence.

[13] Other issues, such as the composition of the UNTAG forces and the status of Namibia's important port Walvis Bay also kept the parties from reaching an agreement on a ceasefire date.

A final meeting in Brazzaville, Congo, set 1 April 1989 as "D-Day" when the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 435 would begin.

However, several groups, including the Organization for African Unity (OAU), the Non-Aligned Movement, and SWAPO objected to a reduction in the size of the force from the number set in 1978.

[15] The General Assembly, however, did not approve the budget for the mission until 1 March 1989 and, due to continuing financial problems, even then the UN did not have reserve funds to begin making requests to member states.

[16] The UNTAG mandate under Resolution 435 was primarily to create an environment suitable for free and fair elections for a constituent assembly to draft a constitution for the nation.

However, in the early morning, SADF reported that heavily armed groups of PLAN fighters had begun crossing the border and establishing positions in northern Namibia in violations of the agreement that they should be confined to their Angolan bases.

SWAPO initially denied that it had violated the terms of the agreement, and claimed that its fighters had been going to turn in weapons to UNTAG and had been attacked by the SADF.

By limiting South African retaliation to half a dozen army battalions and police units, the transition process was ultimately saved.

[30] After the Etjo agreement, the withdrawal and verification passed without incident and by the end UNTAG was almost fully deployed, albeit a month behind schedule.

Despite the delay caused by the fighting of early April, the withdrawal of South African military personnel continued on schedule, with troops confined to base by 13 May[31] and reduced to the agreed-upon 1500 by 24 June 1989.

On 12 June, AG Pienaar proclaimed a general amnesty for Namibians living abroad, and repealed or amended 56 discriminatory laws.

Alleged detention locations were searched by UNTAG personnel and the lists of missing persons were examined and eventually reduced to just over 300 unaccounted for individuals.

The Group also sponsored television, radio, and print media in a number of local languages aimed at educating the people about their rights and responsibilities in the upcoming election and in democracy.

[11] In the months leading up to the elections, complaints came from several quarters, including SWAPO, the US, NGOs, and UNTAG itself, of police intimidation practices and even preparation for vote rigging.

[39] Voters stood in lines up to half a mile long in some places to vote, but in the end participation of 97% was reported with only slightly more than 1% of ballots being declared invalid.

One of Pienaar's final acts was to amend the amnesty against future prosecution granted to Namibian exiles in June 1989 to cover anyone, including South African officials, militia, and the SADF for crimes committed in during the war.