THE Constitutional Court yesterday approved a constitution drafted by South Africa's 490 parliamentarians as consistent with the 34 constitutional principles contained in the interim constitution.
The new constitution, described by President Nelson Mandela as the end of a chapter begun under trying times, will be phased in to replace the present constitution between January next year and April 1999, the date set for the next general election.
The new constitution - to be signed by Mr Mandela next Tuesday at a special ceremony in Sharpeville, scene of the 1960 massacre of black civilians by police - was drafted by representatives elected by all South Africans regardless of race. It thus has greater legitimacy than its precursors.
Certification of the new constitution yesterday came after the initial draft was sent back by the Constitutional Court in September because it failed to comply fully with the 34 constitutional principles in the interim constitution.
The revised draft was adopted in October by an overwhelming majority of the members of the National Assembly and the Senate, sitting jointly as the Constitutional Assembly. Only two parties, the Zulu based Inkatha Freedom Party and the minuscule Democratic Party, argued against its certification by the Constitutional Court.
The two parties contended - for different reasons - that the revised draft provided provincial governments with substantially fewer powers than the interim constitution, in contravention of one of the constitutional principles.
The constitutional court ruled that the revised constitution provided the provinces with less power, but not substantially so. For that reason it complied with the criterion of the relevant constitutional principle.
The secretary general of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Mr Ziba Jiyane, said: "We are not a revolutionary party. We will live by the country's constitution even as we seek all legal means to try to change aspects of it that we don't agree with."
The leader of the Democratic Party, Mr Tony Leon, expressed disappointment that his party's objections had been rejected but pledged loyalty to the constitution and called on South Africans to make it work.
Like the interim constitution, the new constitution contains a bill of rights guaranteeing racial and gender equality, outlawing capital punishment and protecting property rights without making it impossible for the government toe redress the racially skewed distribution of land.