George (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
George
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
SA-1981-George.png
Location of George within South Africa (1981)
Province Cape of Good Hope
Electorate20,195 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  Hennie Smit (NP)
Replaced by Western Cape

George was a constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994. It covered a rural area along the Garden Route, centred on the town of George. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Cape Provincial Council.

Contents

Franchise notes

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The Cape Colony had implemented a “colour-blind” franchise known as the Cape Qualified Franchise, which included all adult literate men owning more than £75 worth of property (controversially raised from £25 in 1892), and this initially remained in effect after the colony became the Cape Province. As of 1908, 22,784 out of 152,221 electors in the Cape Colony were “Native or Coloured”. Eligibility to serve in Parliament and the Provincial Council, however, was restricted to whites from 1910 onward.

The first challenge to the Cape Qualified Franchise came with the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931, which extended the vote to women and removed property qualifications for the white population only – non-white voters remained subject to the earlier restrictions. In 1936, the Representation of Natives Act removed all black voters from the common electoral roll and introduced three “Native Representative Members”, white MPs elected by the black voters of the province and meant to represent their interests in particular. A similar provision was made for Coloured voters with the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951, and although this law was challenged by the courts, it went into effect in time for the 1958 general election, which was thus held with all-white voter rolls for the first time in South African history. The all-white franchise would continue until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994. [1]

History

Like many constituencies in the rural Cape, the electorate of George was largely Afrikaans-speaking and conservative, and with the exception of the inaugural Union election in 1910, the seat was won at every election by the National Party. In 1948, it was won for the first time by a young P. W. Botha, who would hold the constituency for the next thirty-six years. George had always been a somewhat safe seat, but under Botha it became extremely safe, with opposition candidates rarely reaching twenty percent of the vote and frequently neglecting to contest the seat altogether. The National Party voteshare declined slightly after Botha’s elevation to the state presidency in 1984, but a divided opposition meant his successors were always returned by wide margins.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 H. L. Currey SAP
1915 H. P. Raubenheimer National
1920 G. F. Brink
1921
1924
1929
1933 Heinrich Gerdener
1934 United
1938 A. J. Werth GNP
1943 HNP
1948 P. W. Botha
1953 National
1958
1961
1966
1970
1974
1977
1981
1984 by Hennie Smit
1987
1989
1994 constituency abolished

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: George
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African H. L. CurreyUnopposed
South African win (new seat)
General election 1915: George
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National H. P. Raubenheimer 1,392 52.6 New
South African H. J. Raubenheimer1,25547.4N/A
Majority 1375.2N/A
Turnout 2,64780.9N/A
National gain from South African Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: George
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National G. F. Brink 1,414 50.3 −2.3
South African T. Searle1,39649.7+2.3
Majority 180.6−4.6
Turnout 2,81079.4−1.5
National hold Swing -2.3
General election 1921: George
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National G. F. Brink 1,612 52.0 +1.7
South African T. Searle1,48848.0−1.7
Majority 1244.0+3.4
Turnout 3,10080.9+1.5
National hold Swing +1.7
General election 1924: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National G. F. Brink 1,724 54.3 +2.3
South African H. J. Raubenheimer1,45345.7−2.3
Majority 2718.6+4.6
Turnout 3,17784.7+3.8
National hold Swing +2.3
General election 1929: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National G. F. Brink 1,920 66.4 +12.1
South African T. G. Truter97033.6−12.1
Majority 95032.8+24.2
Turnout 2,89081.5−3.2
National hold Swing +12.1

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1933: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National H. Gerdener 3,913 81.1 +14.7
Independent P. S. Heyns91418.9New
Majority 2,99962.2N/A
Turnout 4,82767.4−14.1
National hold Swing N/A
General election 1938: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Purified National A. J. Werth 3,913 62.4 New
United J. M. Baker2,35637.6New
Majority 1,55724.8N/A
Turnout 6,26984.9+17.5
Purified National gain from United Swing N/A

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1943: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reunited National A. J. Werth 4,473 56.2 −6.2
United J. R. Urban3,49243.8+6.2
Majority 98112.4−12.4
Turnout 7,96584.4−0.5
Reunited National hold Swing -6.2
General election 1948: George [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reunited National P. W. Botha 5,913 62.6 +6.4
United M. C. Botha3,55337.4−6.4
Majority 2,36025.2+12.8
Turnout 9,44688.5+4.1
Reunited National hold Swing +6.4

References

  1. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.
  3. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 6705. 19 October 1979. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.
  4. South Africa 1980/81: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
  5. South Africa 1983: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
  6. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 10751. 22 May 1987. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.
  7. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 12109. 20 September 1989. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.
  8. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 12206. 8 December 1989. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.