Botha's National Party government had permitted Coloured and Indian citizens to vote for their own parliaments, which had control over education, health, and housing, but black Africans were excluded from the system; like Mandela, the UDF saw this as an attempt to divide the anti-apartheid movement on racial lines.
波塔的国民党政府允许有色人种和印第安人公民投票选举属于他们种族的议会，对教育、卫生和住房有控制权，但黑人被排挤在这一体系之外；在UDF和曼德拉看来，这是企图制造种族分歧，分裂反种族隔离运动。