to 2, with 10 abstentions.!"
It had been the subject of extended public debate, in which the National
party and the IFP tried unsuccessfully to obtain greater powers for the
provinces. When Buthelezi saw that he was not getting his way, he re-
peated the tactic:he had used previously and withdrew from the negotia-
tions. In most respects, the permanent constitution resembled its forerun-
ner. It replaced the Senate with a National Council of Provinces,which
comprised delegates appointed by the provincial legislatures and whose
decisions could be overridden by the National Assembly; it permitted the
central parliament to override provincial legislation except in such mat-
ters as abattoirs, libraries, museums, and provincial planning; it extended
the Bill of Rights chapter to include rights of "access" to housing, health
care, food, water, and social security (which, in practice, were aspirations
rather than justiciable rights); and it provided for the appointment of a
Human Rights Commission, a Commission for Gender Equality, an Elec-
toral Commission, and an independent broadcasting authority. In an im-
portant decision, the permanent constitution ceased to make it obligatory
for the dominant party to include members of other parties in the central