Pietersburg (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Pietersburg
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
SA-1981-Pietersburg.png
Location of Pietersburg within South Africa (1981)
Province Transvaal
Electorate22,800 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1920
Abolished 1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  W. J. Snyman (CP)
Replaced by Limpopo

Pietersburg was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1920 to 1994. Named after the town of Pietersburg (now Polokwane), it covered a rural area in the northern Transvaal. 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

Like most of the rural Transvaal, Pietersburg had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate. For most of its history, it was a stronghold of the National Party, and for the first forty years of its existence, it was represented by a single MP - Tom Naudé, who was first elected on the seat's creation in 1920 and only left on his elevation to the Senate in 1960. During his time in the lower house, he served as Chief Whip, Speaker, and finally as a cabinet minister in all Nationalist governments from 1950 until 1961. He finished his career as President of the Senate, in which role he acted as State President following the death of State President-elect Eben Dönges in 1967.

Following Naudé's retirement, Pietersburg stayed a loyal Nationalist seat, but in 1982, its MP, Willem Jacobus Snyman, joined Andries Treurnicht's new Conservative Party, and was re-elected under that label at every subsequent election until the fall of apartheid.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1920 Tom Naudé National
1921
1924
1929
1933
1934 United
1938
1939 HNP
1943
1948
1953 National
1958
1961 F. J. Niemand
1966 A. S. D. Erasmus
1970
1974
1975 byW. J. Snyman
1977
1981
1982 Conservative
1987
1989
1994 Constituency abolished

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

Detailed results

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Pietersburg
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Tom Naudé 996 55.6 New
South African T. J. Kleinenberg79644.4New
Majority 20011.2N/A
Turnout 1,79267.9N/A
National win (new seat)
General election 1921: Pietersburg
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National Tom Naudé 1,108 55.0 −0.6
South African G. P. C. Kotzé90545.0+0.6
Majority 20310.0−1.2
Turnout 2,01369.2+1.3
National hold Swing -0.6

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.