The new democratic Parliament, which doubled as the Constitutional Assembly, was given two years to write the final Constitution. From across the political spectrum, the 460 members engaged with the people of South Africa, working day and night to produce draft after draft. In the end, it was a race to the finish line.

There was great elation on 8 May 1996 when Parliament adopted the Constitution by an 87% majority. Once the Constitutional Court had certified that the text complied with Principles agreed to in advance, it was signed into law on 10 December 1996.

Discover the story of the constitution-writing process.