Editing Transkei (section)

==Government and politics==
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Political parties<ref name=sa_dem_ed780 />
! Party !! Years
|-
| Democratic Party (DP)
| 1976–1979
|-
| Transkei National Independence Party (TNIP)
| 1976–1987
|-
| New Democratic Party (NDP)
| 1976–1979
|-
| Transkei People's Freedom Party (TPFP)
| 1976–1979
|-
| Transkei National Progressive Party (TNPP)
| 1978–1979
|-
| Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
| 1979–1980
|}

Nominally, the Republic of Transkei was a [[parliamentary democracy]] which allowed for a [[multi-party system]]. During its existence, six parties registered to compete in elections at different points of its history.<ref name=sa_dem_ed780 /> Until the military coup of 1987, the Transkei National Independence Party remained the ruling party, while the Transkei People's Freedom Party constituted the official opposition. Because its founder, Cromwell Diko, was a former member of the ruling party, and due to its continued support of President Matanzima's policies, there is a widely held belief that it was actually initiated by Matanzima himself to give the impression of free elections when in fact there were none.<ref name=sa_dem_ed780 /> Other parties that existed never gained any representation in parliament.

According to the Constitution of Transkei, parliament consisted of the president in joint session with the National Assembly and its laws and legislative decisions were immune to judicial review.<ref>{{Citation|title=Constitution of the Republic of Transkei, Chapter 5, (4)|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721224511/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Seventy-five of its members were elected by popular vote from the various districts Transkei's territory was divided into. The remaining members were unelected Paramount Chiefs and ex officio chiefs whose number per district was enshrined in the constitution.<ref>{{Citation|title=Constitution of the Republic of Transkei, Schedule 1|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721224511/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Citizenship===

With the establishment of the republic, the citizenry consisted of all those who had been holding the citizenship of the former territory of Transkei. Individuals were given no choice in this matter as the Transkeian constitution was a legally binding act; for the future, it provided citizenship regulations based on both ''[[jus sanguinis]]'' and ''[[jus soli]]''. Citizenship by descent was given along the [[Patrilineality|paternal line]], regardless of a person's place of birth; in addition, any individual born within the republic's territory was eligible for citizenship, excluding those whose father held diplomatic immunity or was deemed an illegal immigrant and whose mother was a non-citizen.<ref>{{Citation|title=Constitution of the Republic of Transkei, Chapter 8, 57-59|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721224511/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Dual citizenship at birth was not permitted, and renunciation of one's citizenship was legally possible, but rendered the individual stateless in most cases. In effect, the regulations thus created an almost homogeneous population of Xhosa ethnicity, though exceptions existed.

===Flag===
The flag of Transkei is a [[triband (flag)|triband]]. The colours are (from the top down) [[ochre|ochre red]], [[white]], and [[green]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Republic of Transkei Constitution Act, Chapter 3.13|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|access-date=11 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721224511/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Transkei_Constitution.pdf|archive-date=21 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>