1924 South African general election

1924 South African general election

←  1921 17 June 1924 1929  →
All 135 seats in the House of Assembly 68 seats needed for a majority
Registered	413,136
Turnout	77.23% ( 21.63pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader J. B. M. Hertzog Jan Smuts Frederic Creswell Party National South African Labour Leader's seat Smithfield Pretoria West (lost re-election) Denver Last election 38.15%, 44 seats 49.92%, 77 seats 10.68%, 10 seats Seats won 63 53 18 Seat change 19 24 8 Popular vote 111,483 148,769 45,380 Percentage 35.25% 47.04% 14.35% Swing 2.90pp 2.86pp 3.67pp
Results by province
Prime Minister before election Jan Smuts South African Elected Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog National

General elections were held in South Africa on 17 June 1924, ^[1] electing 135 members of the House of Assembly. Considered a realigning election, rising discontent with the government of Jan Smuts led to the defeat of his government by a coalition of the pro-Afrikaner National Party and the South African Labour Party, a socialist party representing the interests of the white proletariat. ^[2]

Smuts had angered South African nationalists by his moderate stance on South African independence from the British Empire. The worldwide depression after the end of the First World War had led to a strike in South Africa, known as the Rand Rebellion, which had been defused through a combination of military force and negotiation with the outgunned unions, earning Smuts the enmity of the labour vote. As a consequence Smuts's SAP was defeated by a Nationalist–Labour Pact, J. B. M. Hertzog formed the government and became Prime Minister – a position he was to hold until 1939.

Delimitation of electoral divisions

The South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division. The representation by province, under the fourth delimitation report of 1923, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1919) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged. ^[3]

Provinces	Cape	Natal	Orange Free State	Transvaal	Total
Divisions	51	17	17	50 (49)	135 (134)

Results

Main article: Results of the 1924 South African general election

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	South African Party	148,769	47.04	53	–24
	National Party	111,483	35.25	63	+19
	Labour Party	45,380	14.35	18	+8
	Independents	10,610	3.36	1	0
Total		316,242	100.00	135	+1
Valid votes		316,242	99.12
Invalid/blank votes		2,805	0.88
Total votes		319,047	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		413,136	77.23
Source: South Africa 1982 [4]

References

• South Africa 1982: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa, published by Chris van Rensburg Publications

1. "Smuts Is Certain of Victory Today— Dramatic Turn Throughout Country Towards Premier— Hertzog Distrusted", Montreal Gazette, 17 June 1924, p.1
2. "Smuts Loses Seat; Party May Be Beaten; Returns From Urban Districts Show Defeats for His Supporters in Many Instances", The New York Times, 18 June 1924, p.11
3. South Africa 1982, page 129
4. South Africa 1982, pp. 174, 176