Seat distribution in the Senate after the election
For the fifth Senate of South Africa, the eight nominated Senators were appointed on July 28, 1948 and the Electoral Colleges met in the provincial capitals the following day. At the end of this process the government had 22 supporters (Reunited National Party 11, Afrikaner Party 2, Independent 1 and the 8 nominated Senators) and the opposition 21 (United Party 15, Labour Party 3, and Native Representatives 3). The fourth Native Representative seat was vacant.[1]
The South West Africa Affairs Amendment Act 1949 added four additional members to the Senate, of whom two were to be elected, and two nominated by the Governor-General.[2] The elected Senators were chosen by an Electoral College, composed of the members of South-West Africa's Legislative Assembly and the six members of the House of Assembly representing the territory.[3]
Of the nominated Senators, one was to be selected mainly on the ground of his "thorough acquaintance, by reason of his official experience or otherwise, with the reasonable wants and wishes or the coloured races of the territory".[4] All four Senators chosen on 29 September 1950 were National Party supporters.[5]
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to particular offices. Often these represent different organizations, political parties or entities, with each organization, political party or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way.
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman/congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seventh Parliament was first convened on 22 May 2019.
The Senate was the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa between 1910 and its abolition from 1 January 1981, and between 1994 and 1997.
The United National South West Party was a political party in South West Africa, the local counterpart of the South African United Party but founded eight years earlier and merged into the latter in 1971. It was formed through a merger of National Party of South West Africa and the South West Party, in order to counter the influence of the German League in South West Africa. The first congress of UNSWP was held in Windhoek on 1–2 April 1927.
General elections were held in South Africa on 18 October 1961. They were the first general elections after South Africa became a republic following the 1960 South African referendum. The National Party under Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd won a majority in the House of Assembly.
General elections were held in South Africa on 15 April 1953. The elections consolidated the position of the National Party under D. F. Malan, which won an absolute majority of the 156 elected seats in the House of Assembly, also receiving the most votes. Its first-time majority of the white electorate would be retained until the 1989 elections.
General elections were held in South Africa on 16 April 1958. The result was a victory for the National Party, now under the leadership of J.G. Strijdom after the retirement of Daniel Malan in 1954. The opposition United Party campaigned for the first time under De Villiers Graaff, who would remain party leader for two decades.
General elections were held in South Africa on 30 March 1966. The result was another comprehensive victory for the National Party under Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd.
General elections were held in South Africa on 18 May 1938 to elect the 150 members of the House of Assembly. The United Party won an absolute majority.
General elections were held in South Africa on 7 July 1943 to elect the 150 members of the House of Assembly. The United Party of Jan Smuts won an absolute majority.
The system of racial segregation and oppression in South Africa known as apartheid was implemented and enforced by many acts and other laws. This legislation served to institutionalize racial discrimination and the dominance by white people over people of other races. While the bulk of this legislation was enacted after the election of the National Party government in 1948, it was preceded by discriminatory legislation enacted under earlier British and Afrikaner governments. Apartheid is distinguished from segregation in other countries by the systematic way in which it was formalized in law.
The House of Assembly was the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa from 1910 to 1981, the sole parliamentary chamber between 1981 and 1984, and latterly the white representative house of the Tricameral Parliament from 1984 to 1994, when it was replaced by the current National Assembly. Throughout its history, it was exclusively constituted of white members who were elected to office predominantly by white citizens, though until 1960 and 1970, respectively, some Black Africans and Coloureds in the Cape Province voted under a restricted form of suffrage.
The Transvaal Provincial Council was the provincial council of the Transvaal Province in South Africa. It was created by the South Africa Act 1909, from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910, and replaced the Transvaal Legislative Assembly which had been created through self-government in 1907. The first election to the provincial council took place on 15 September 1910.
The Cape Provincial Council was the provincial council of the Cape Province of South Africa. It was created by the South Africa Act 1909, with effect from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910. The first election to the provincial council took place on 15 September 1910.
The Natal Provincial Council was the provincial council of Natal Province in South Africa. It was created by the South Africa Act 1909, with effect from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910.
The Orange Free State Provincial Council was the provincial council of the Orange Free State Province in South Africa. It was created by the South Africa Act 1909, with effect from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910.
The Coloured vote constitutional crisis, also known as the Coloured vote case, was a constitutional crisis that occurred in the Union of South Africa during the 1950s as the result of an attempt by the Nationalist government to remove coloured voters in the Union's Cape Province from the common voters' rolls. It developed into a dispute between the judiciary and the other branches of government over the power of Parliament to amend an entrenched clause in the South Africa Act and the power of the Appellate Division to overturn the amendment as unconstitutional. The crisis ended when the government enlarged the Senate and altered its method of election, allowing the amendment to be successfully enacted.
The election to the fourth Senate of South Africa took place on November 17, 1939, when the Provincial Councils met to each elect eight members of the Senate. After the election and the appointment of eight more Senators by Governor-General Sir Patrick Duncan, the Senate was left with a pro-war majority. There were 24 pro-government Senators and 16 opposition Senators. The four Native Representative Senators were also pro-war.
The election for the seventh Senate of South Africa took place on October 26, 1960, with the appointment of nominated Senators by the Governor-General taking place on November 16, 1960.
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