Krugersdorp (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Krugersdorp
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
SA-1981-Krugersdorp.png
Location of Krugersdorp within South Africa (1981)
Province Transvaal
Electorate22,398 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  Leon Wessels (NP)
Replaced by Gauteng

Krugersdorp was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994. It covered a part of the West Rand centred on the town of Krugersdorp. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Transvaal 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. 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

Krugersdorp had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate, and in its later years was a safe seat for the governing National Party, but it passed through several different hands before that. Its most notable early MP was mining magnate Abe Bailey, who sat as an independent but was considered close to the Unionist and South African parties. He stood for re-election as an SAP candidate in 1924, but was defeated by Dutch Reformed Church minister Bernhardus Hattingh for the National Party. Hattingh died in 1934, as his party was preparing to merge into the new United Party, and in the resulting by-election, the seat was captured by Labour candidate Marthinus Johannes van den Berg. The latter would serve in parliament until 1970, defecting to the Herenigde Nasionale Party ahead of the 1948 general election and serving out his career on the government benches. Krugersdorp's last MP, Leon Wessels, served in cabinet under F. W. de Klerk and was seen as a verlig ("enlightened" or liberal) Nationalist; he faced a stiff challenge from Clive Derby-Lewis in 1987 but held his seat. After the end of apartheid he would go on to serve on the South African Human Rights Commission.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 J. W. S. Langerman Het Volk
1915 Abe Bailey Independent
1920
1921
1924 B. R. Hattingh National
1929
1933
1934 byM. J. van den Berg Labour
1938
1943
1948 HNP
1953 National
1958
1961
1966
1970 J. A. F. Nel
1974 J. J. Vilonel
1977 Leon Wessels
1981
1987
1989
1994 Constituency abolished

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

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Krugersdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Het Volk J. W. S. Langerman 1,065 52.4 New
Unionist Abe Bailey 96847.6New
Majority 974.8N/A
Het Volk win (new seat)
General election 1915: Krugersdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Abe Bailey 1,153 57.2 +9.6
National H. J. Poutsma52326.0New
Labour E. Creswell33916.8New
Majority 63031.2N/A
Turnout 2,01576.4N/A
Independent gain from South African Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Krugersdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Abe Bailey 875 37.4 −19.8
National B. R. Hattingh85236.4+10.4
Labour W. G. Delport61426.2+9.5
Majority 231.0−30.2
Turnout 2,34174.5−1.9
Independent hold Swing -15.1
General election 1921: Krugersdorp
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Abe Bailey 1,158 44.5 +7.1
National B. R. Hattingh1,02239.3+2.9
Labour E. Creswell42016.2−10.0
Majority 1365.2+4.2
Turnout 2,60074.6+0.1
Independent hold Swing +2.1

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.