Klerksdorp (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Klerksdorp
Former constituency for the South African House of Assembly
Location of Klerksdorp within South Africa (1981)
Province	Transvaal
Electorate	29,661 (1989)
Former constituency
Created	1915
Abolished	1994
Number of members	1
Last MHA	Amie Venter (NP)
Replaced by	North West

Klerksdorp was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1915 to 1994. It covered a part of the western Transvaal centred on the town of Klerksdorp. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Transvaal Provincial Council.

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. In the Transvaal Colony, and its predecessor the South African Republic, the vote was restricted to white men, and as such, elections in the Transvaal Province were held on a whites-only franchise from the beginning. The franchise was also restricted by property and education qualifications until the 1933 general election, following the passage of the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931. From then on, the franchise was given to all white citizens aged 21 or over. Non-whites remained disenfranchised until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994. ^[1]

History

Like most of the rural Transvaal, Klerksdorp had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate. For most of its history, it was a safe seat for the National Party, which took it for the first time in 1920 and held it until its abolition with the exception of the 1934-40 period. During these years, the nascent United Party, led by J. B. M. Hertzog and then Jan Smuts, dominated Transvaal politics, and Klerksdorp was no exception. However, when Hertzog left the party in protest at South Africa joining the Second World War, Klerksdorp MP Jan Wilkens followed him back into the Herenigde Nasionale Party. From then until the end of apartheid, Klerksdorp was represented by only three MPs: Wilkens until 1953, then Petrus Cornelius Pelser until 1974, and finally Amie Venter for the last twenty years. Pelser and Venter both served in cabinet, the former under John Vorster and the latter under P. W. Botha and F. W. de Klerk.

Members

Election		Member	Party
	1915	J. A. Nesser	South African
	1920	J. S. Smit	National
	1921
	1924
	1925 by	P. C. de Villiers
	1929
	1933
	1934		United
	1937 by	Jan Wilkens
	1938
	1940		HNP
	1943
	1948
	1953	P. C. Pelser	National
	1958
	1961
	1966
	1970
	1974	Amie Venter
	1977
	1981
	1987
	1989
	1994	Constituency abolished

^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1915 South African general election § Klerksdorp.[ edit ]

General election 1915: Klerksdorp

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	J. A. Nesser	1,247	54.1	+5.5
	National	J. S. Smit	1,059	45.9	New
Majority			188	8.2	N/A
Turnout			2,306	82.6	N/A
	South African win (new seat)

Elections in the 1920s

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1920 South African general election § Klerksdorp.[ edit ]

General election 1920: Klerksdorp

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	J. S. Smit	1,355	53.9	+8.0
	South African	J. A. Nesser	1,160	46.1	−8.0
Majority			195	7.8	N/A
Turnout			2,515	80.5	−2.1
	National gain from South African		Swing	+8.0

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1921 South African general election § Klerksdorp.[ edit ]

General election 1921: Klerksdorp

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National	J. S. Smit	1,408	53.2	−0.7
	South African	J. A. Nesser	1,239	46.8	+0.7
Majority			169	6.4	−1.4
Turnout			2,647	77.7	−2.8
	National hold		Swing	-0.7

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.
3. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (1972). "House of Assembly" (vol. 5, pp. 617–636). Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou).
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.