Humansdorp (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Humansdorp
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Province Cape of Good Hope
Electorate17,816 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  (UP)
Replaced by Eastern Cape

Humansdorp was a constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994. It covered a rural area along the Indian Ocean coast, centred on the town of Humansdorp. 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 Humansdorp was largely Afrikaans-speaking and conservative, and with the exception of the inaugural Union election in 1910, the seat was held throughout its existence by the National Party. Its most prominent MP was Paul Sauer, who chaired the Sauer Commission which formulated many of the key policies of apartheid enacted by the post-1948 NP governments. Sauer retired in 1966, but his party colleagues continued to hold the seat by wide margins until the end of apartheid.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 J. H. Rademeyer SAP
1915 Charl W. Malan National
1920
1921
1924
1929
1933 Paul Sauer
1934 GNP
1938
1943 HNP
1948
1953 National
1958
1961
1966 G. F. Malan
1970
1974
1977
1981 W. D. Meyer
1987
1989
1994 constituency abolished

[2]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Humansdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African J. M. Rademeyer 1,168 54.3 New
Ind. South African J. A. L. de Waal98345.7New
Majority 1858.6N/A
South African win (new seat)
General election 1915: Humansdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Charl W. Malan 1,494 53.4 New
South African J. M. Rademeyer1,30246.6−7.7
Majority 1926.8N/A
Turnout 2,79692.2N/A
National gain from South African Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Humansdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Charl W. Malan 1,687 58.9 +5.5
South African J. M. Rademeyer1,17541.1−5.5
Majority 51217.8+11.0
Turnout 2,86284.3−7.9
National hold Swing +5.5
General election 1921: Humansdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Charl W. Malan 1,674 59.3 +0.4
South African J. M. Rademeyer1,15040.7−0.4
Majority 51218.6+0.8
Turnout 2,82462.0−22.3
National hold Swing +0.4

References

  1. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.