This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Elections in Southern Rhodesia were used from 1899 to 1923 to elect part of the Legislative Council and from 1924 to elect the whole of the Legislative Assembly which governed the colony. Since the granting of self-government in 1923, Southern Rhodesia used the Westminster parliamentary system as its basis of government. The Political party (or alliance) that had most of the seats in the Legislative Assembly became the government. The person in charge of this bloc (the head of government) was the Premier, later renamed Prime Minister, who then chose his cabinet from his elected colleagues.
Prior to the grant of responsible government, Southern Rhodesia was governed by a Legislative Council from 1899 which consisted of some nominated and some elected members. The nominated members were appointed by the British South Africa Company, and consisted of the executive which ruled the colony; the number of elected members increased throughout the period as the number of white people in the colony increased.
Following the grant of responsible government in 1924, Southern Rhodesia's Parliament was unicameral, consisting of the Legislative Assembly on its own. Once Acts were passed by the Legislative Assembly, they were passed to the Governor to give assent on behalf of the British monarch. The Assembly had 30 seats until the 1961 constitution, when it was increased to 65 (50 constituencies and 15 districts). It was presided over by a Speaker; Southern Rhodesia differed from UK practice in that the Speaker was an ex officio member of the Legislative Assembly.
The colony of Southern Rhodesia took its base law from that of Cape Colony, suitably modified to retain European settler control. The base requirement was that an elector be a British subject, male, aged 21 or over, and able to write their own name and address and sign their name on the registration form. There were then three requirements which qualified voters.
a) Owner of a registered mining claim in Southern Rhodesia. b) Occupier of immovable property valued at £75. c) Receiving in Southern Rhodesia wages or salary of £50 per annum.
Under b) and c), voters must also have had six months residency in Southern Rhodesia.
In 1912, the literacy requirements were raised to require voters to write at dictation 50 words in the English language, if required by the registering officer. The means qualification under b) was raised to £150 and under c) to £100 per annum. Women were enfranchised in 1919, deemed to possess the same means qualification as their husbands.
The same qualifications were continued under responsible government. In 1928, the dictation test was eliminated, and, in 1938, the means qualifications were lifted from pensioners. The means qualifications were not raised until 1951, when the value of property required was increased to £500, and the annual wage requirement to £240.
In 1957, the residential qualification was raised to two years in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and the language requirement was raised to demand the ability to read and comprehend English. The means qualifications were changed to create upper and lower rolls and to allow for educational achievements to count towards means. Property ownership was required to have been held for two years and the mining claim qualification was eliminated.
Following the enactment of the 1961 constitution, there were two voter rolls that were available to voters. The 'A' roll was the more important, with qualification dependent on meeting a financial and educational means test; voters had to be 21 years of age and possess either an annual income of 792 Rhodesian pounds or more or real estate property worth at least 1,650 pounds – this qualification was lowered to 528/1,100 pounds if the voter had completed a primary education, or 330/550 pounds if the voter had completed a four-year secondary education. Appointment to the office of "chieftain" or "headman" by the government gave automatic access to the A roll. Despite a certain flexibility, the vast majority on the A roll were European. The 'B' roll had a lower set of financial and educational qualifications; voters had to be 18 years of age and possess an annual income of 264 pounds or property worth 495 pounds (reduced to 132/275 if the person completed two years of secondary education, 198/385 if the person was 30 years or older, or 132/275 if the person was over 30 years of age and had completed primary education). Ministers of religion as well as Kraal chiefs with a following of at least 20 heads of families automatically gained access to the B roll. The vast majority eligible for the B roll were African, although a few were European. African nationalists rejected the constitution and successfully persuaded most eligible African voters not to register. [1]
Which roll an elector was on affected the value of their vote in a constituencies and districts. Both the rolls voted for each type of seat. For the constituencies, if the B roll total exceeded one-fifth of the total votes, it was devalued to a maximum of one-fifth. In practice, this never happened, due to the African nationalist campaign to boycott elections. For the districts, if the A roll total exceeded one-fifth of the total votes, it was devalued to a maximum of one-fifth. This was always the case.
In the 1970 constitution, the electoral system was changed with the 'B' roll being abolished. Instead, the electorate were segregated by race with European, Asian and mixed citizens meeting certain income and property qualifications – an annual income of 1,800 dollars or more for the past two years or immovable property worth 3,600 dollars or more, with either demand lowered by a third if the person had completed four years of secondary education – voting in 50 constituencies, with Africans meeting lower qualifications – an annual income of 600 dollars or more for the two past years or immovable property worth 1,200 dollars or more, with either demand lowered by a third if the voter had completed two years of secondary education – voting in eight. In addition, there were eight seats elected by an electoral college of African tribal chiefs. Prime Minister Ian Smith justified this setup on the grounds that the vast majority of black Rhodesians had no experience with the democratic system. White Rhodesians feared that rapid transition to majority rule might yield similar hardships to those experienced by the other newly independent African states such as Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria. Smith proposed a gradual inclusion of Africans, increasing as the African population got to understand the system. This was based on the contributions to the fisc, hence the 50–16 split in the 66-seat chamber, with a new Rhodesian Senate being instated as well. Critics counter that this was simply a strategy to perpetuate European settler rule for as long as possible, and whether this transition would have happened over the next few decades is unclear. [2] [ better source needed ]
From 1924 to 1933, the Rhodesia Party (a renaming of the 'Responsible Government Association' which had campaigned for the grant of autonomy) dominated the government. In 1933, the Reform Party, a modestly progressive group, won the election, but within a year the more right-wing part of the party including its leader had merged with the Rhodesia Party to create the United Party. This party remained in power until 1962 when it was defeated by the Rhodesian Front.
From the 1965 election up to the end of Rhodesia in 1979, all of the 'A' Roll seats and European seats were won by Rhodesian Front candidates. These wins were clearly the will of the white voters who felt that the Rhodesian Front was the best choice to lead Rhodesia through the difficult years of sanctions and guerilla war. The 'B' Roll seats were held by Tribal Chiefs and independent candidates. These results ensured a Black African being the Leader of the parliamentary opposition.
Zimbabwe Rhodesia, alternatively known as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, also informally known as Zimbabwe or Rhodesia, was a short-lived sovereign state that existed from 1 June 1979 to 18 April 1980, though lacked international recognition. Zimbabwe Rhodesia was preceded by another state named the Republic of Rhodesia and was briefly under a British-supervised transitional government sometimes referred to as a reestablished Southern Rhodesia, which according to British constitutional theory had remained the lawful government in the area after Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965. About three months later, the re-established colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted internationally recognised independence within the Commonwealth as the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Sir Roland "Roy" Welensky was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms.
Rhodesia had limited democracy in the sense that it had the Westminster parliamentary system with multiple political parties contesting the seats in parliament, but as the voting was dominated by the White settler minority, and Black Africans only had a minority level of representation at that time, it was regarded internationally as a racist country.
General elections were held in Rhodesia on 30 July 1974. They saw the Rhodesian Front of Ian Smith re-elected, once more winning every one of the 50 seats elected by white voters.
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 14 December 1962. Voters elected 65 members of the Legislative Assembly. The election was notable for bringing to power the Rhodesian Front, initially under Winston Field, which set the colony on the course for its eventual Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 19 September 1928, the second elections to the Legislative Assembly. The Rhodesia Party, which had won an overwhelming victory in the previous elections in 1924, was re-elected with a slightly reduced majority.
General elections were held in Rhodesia on 31 August 1977, the last general election in the country dominated by the white minority. Prime Minister Ian Smith, who was conducting negotiations with moderate African nationalists, was forced into an early election by the defection of twelve MPs from his Rhodesian Front party, which denied him the two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly needed to change the constitution. In the event, the Front overwhelmed the breakaway Rhodesian Action Party and all other forces, once again winning every single seat in the 50 seats elected by those of European descent.
General elections were held in Rhodesia in April 1979, the first where the majority black population elected the majority of seats in parliament. The elections were held following the Internal Settlement negotiated by the Rhodesian Front government of Ian Smith and were intended to provide a peaceful transition to majority rule on terms not harmful to White Rhodesians. In accordance with the Internal Settlement, on 1 June, Rhodesia officially became the nation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, under the government of the United African National Council elected in the 1979 elections. The Internal Settlement was not approved internationally but the incoming government under Bishop Abel Muzorewa did decide to participate in the Lancaster House talks which led to the end of the dispute and the creation of Zimbabwe.
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia between 14 February and 4 March 1980 to elect the members of the House of Assembly of the first Parliament of the independent Zimbabwe. As stipulated by the new Constitution of Zimbabwe produced by the Lancaster House Conference, the new House of Assembly was to comprise 100 members, 80 of whom would be elected proportionally by province by all adult citizens on a common role, and 20 of whom would be elected in single-member constituencies by whites on a separate roll.
General elections were held in Rhodesia on 10 April 1970. They were the first elections to take place under the revised, republican constitution. The country had declared itself independent in November 1965, shortly after the previous elections; the Rhodesian Front government had always disliked the 1961 constitution and made sure to change it by the time of the next one.
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 15 September 1948. They saw Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins regain the overall majority he had lost in the previous elections in 1946. Huggins' United Party won a landslide, reducing the opposition Liberal Party to a small minority.
The colonial history of Southern Rhodesia is considered to be a time period from the British government's establishment of the government of Southern Rhodesia on 1 October 1923, to Prime Minister Ian Smith's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965. The territory of 'Southern Rhodesia' was originally referred to as 'South Zambezia' but the name 'Rhodesia' came into use in 1895. The designation 'Southern' was adopted in 1901 and dropped from normal usage in 1964 on the break-up of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and Rhodesia became the name of the country until the creation of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. Legally, from the British perspective, the name Southern Rhodesia continued to be used until 18 April 1980, when the name Republic of Zimbabwe was formally proclaimed.
The Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council was the inaugural governing body for the British South Africa Company (BSAC) territory of Southern Rhodesia before its replacement by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 1923, when the country achieved responsible government, and duly became a self-governing colony within the British Empire.
The Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia was the legislature of Southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia from 1924 to 1970.
General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 30 October 1962, with by-elections for several seats held on 10 December. Although the United Federal Party won the most seats in the Legislative Council, and Northern Rhodesian African National Congress leader Harry Nkumbula had made a secret electoral pact with the UFP, Nkumbula decided to form a government with the United National Independence Party.
A constitutional referendum was held in Southern Rhodesia, then a constituent territory of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, on 26 July 1961. The new constitution was approved by about 66% of those who voted; turnout was 77%.
General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 20 March 1959, although voting did not take place in two constituencies until 9 April. The United Federal Party (UFP) was expected to win the elections, and did so by taking 13 of the 22 elected seats on the Legislative Council.
The modern political history of Zimbabwe starts with the arrival of white people to what was dubbed Southern Rhodesia in the 1890s. The country was initially run by an administrator appointed by the British South Africa Company. The prime ministerial role was first created in October 1923, when the country achieved responsible government, with Sir Charles Coghlan as its first Premier. The third Premier, George Mitchell, renamed the post Prime Minister in 1933.
The Leader of the Opposition in Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia was a title held by the leader of the largest political party in the most important house of the legislature that was not in government.