Pretoria District North (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

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Pretoria District North
Pretoria-Distrik-Noord
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Province Transvaal
Electorate2,524 (1924)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1929
Number of members1
Last MHA  Harm Oost (NP)
Replaced byPretoria District

Pretoria District North (Afrikaans: Pretoria-Distrik-Noord) was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1929. It covered a rural area to the north of Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. 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

Pretoria District North, like most of the rural Transvaal, had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate, but it was influenced by its proximity to the capital. Its first MP, Thomas Cullinan, was a mine owner and the namesake of the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered. He represented the provincial Het Volk party, which later merged into the South African Party, and lost the seat in 1915 but regained it in 1920. It was held by the National Party in its last two elections, and its final MP, Harm Oost, was re-elected to represent the unified Pretoria District seat in 1929.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 Thomas Cullinan Het Volk
1915 J. A. Joubert National
1920 Thomas Cullinan South African
1921 J. A. Joubert National
1924 Harm Oost
1929 constituency abolished

[2] [3]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Pretoria District North
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Het Volk Thomas Cullinan 1,138 61.1 New
Labour J. T. Bain53828.9New
Independent I. Haarhoff18810.1New
Majority 60032.2N/A
Het Volk win (new seat)
General election 1915: Pretoria District North
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National J. A. Joubert 826 50.8 New
South African Thomas Cullinan 80049.2−11.9
Majority 261.6N/A
Turnout 1,62677.1N/A
National gain from South African Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Pretoria District North
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African Thomas Cullinan 987 49.8 +0.6
National J. A. Joubert97649.2−1.6
Independent W. T. Nourse201.0New
Majority 110.6N/A
Turnout 1,98366.0−11.1
South African gain from National Swing +1.1
General election 1921: Pretoria District North
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
National J. A. Joubert 1,165 51.7 +2.5
South African W. Teichman1,08848.3−1.5
Majority 773.4N/A
Turnout 2,25369.2+3.2
National gain from South African Swing +2.0

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).