Final answer:
It is false that the parties in power after South Africa gained independence in 1931 represented all people regardless of race. Black Africans and other racial groups were denied political rights, which persisted under apartheid until 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected and the new Constitution in 1996 enshrined equal rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that when South Africa gained independence in 1931, the political parties that came to power represented the interests of all people, regardless of race, is false. In practice, the political system in South Africa, from its creation as a self-governing union in 1910 and even after becoming a republic in 1961, was designed to represent and protect the interests of the white minority population. Black Africans and other racial groups were systematically denied voting rights, and this was codified with the rise of the apartheid policy starting in 1948.
From the very beginning, when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, it was a dominion of the British Empire that excluded nearly 85% of the population - the coloured and native groups - from political equality. These discriminatory practices continued and were extended with the implementation of apartheid, a formal system of racial segregation and oppression, in 1948. It was not until 1994, with the election of Nelson Mandela as the first black president, that South Africa truly began to represent the interests of all its citizens.
The transition from apartheid was marked by several key legal and symbolic transformations, including the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990, and the subsequent drafting of a new South African Constitution in 1996. This constitution guaranteed human rights and voting rights to all citizens, finally making true representation a legal reality.