To State President P.W. Botha of South Africa, a big turnout in black townships for the Oct. 26 elections would signal that blacks have accepted his offer of power sharing as an alternative to revolution. So in an effort to get out the black vote, Botha's government has swollen registration lists, declared it illegal to call for a boycott, and banned major black organizations that have opposed the polling.
Foes of apartheid are equally determined to thwart an election they see as hopelessly segregated. Activists have scrawled DON'T VOTE on walls, billboards and traffic signs throughout the black townships. Antiapartheid clergymen...