Two decades ago, South Africa re-joined the Commonwealth of Nations after withdrawing its membership in 1961 when it declared itself a Republic under the leadership of Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoed. The move came after the promising talks on constitutional reform between government, the ANC and other liberation movements. The country’s move of withdrawing came with a lot of criticism for its racial policies by Commonwealth members.
According to http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/south-africa-invited-rejoin-commonwealth-nations, the invitation came at a time when South Africans and the world alike were beginning to see positive changes, as the country was moving towards holding it first all-inclusive general elections in April 1994.
