Pretoria East (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Pretoria East
Pretoria-Oos
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Pretoria-1910-East.png
Location of Pretoria East within Pretoria (1910)
Province Transvaal
Electorate38,901 (1989)
Former constituency
Created 1910
1974
Abolished 1966
1994
Number of members1
Last MHA  Theo Alant (NP)
Replaced by Gauteng

Pretoria East (Afrikaans: Pretoria-Oos) was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1966 and again from 1974 to 1994. It covered the eastern parts of Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, and changed its makeup several times over the course of its existence. 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

As initially created, Pretoria East covered the eastern half of its namesake city, and was the only seat in Transvaal outside Johannesburg to be won by the opposition Unionist Party at the first general election in 1910 - this was despite the fact that the governing party candidate was Prime Minister Louis Botha. It changed hands only three times in its history: in 1921, when the Unionist Party merged with the South African Party, in 1934, when the SAP merged into the United Party, and in 1958, when it was won by the National Party. In its final boundaries, delineated in 1981, it covered the outer eastern suburbs of Pretoria, and like other such seats across South Africa, it was an NP stronghold.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 J. P. Fitzpatrick Unionist
1915
1920 C. W. Giovanetti
1921 South African
1924
1929
1933
1934 United Party
1938 C. W. Clark
1943
1948
1948 by Jan Smuts
1950 byH. C. de Kock
1953
1958 Hilgard Muller National Party
1961 byJ. C. Otto
1961
1966 constituency abolished
ElectionMemberParty
1974 J. J. Lloyd National Party
1977
1981 Theo Alant
1987
1989
1994 constituency abolished

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

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Pretoria East
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist J. P. Fitzpatrick 1,231 52.1 New
Het Volk Louis Botha 1,13647.9New
Majority 954.2N/A
Unionist win (new seat)
General election 1915: Pretoria East
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist J. P. Fitzpatrick 1,495 61.3 +9.3
National K. Rood64426.4New
Labour A. Grant29212.0New
Independent R. J. Smith60.2New
Majority 85134.9N/A
Turnout 2,43776.7N/A
Unionist hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Pretoria East
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Unionist C. W. Giovanetti 1,268 58.7 −2.6
National W. F. Mondriaan47121.8−4.6
Labour G. H. McLean41619.3+7.3
Independent G. L. Hutchinson50.2New
Majority 79736.9+2.0
Turnout 2,16070.8−5.9
Unionist hold Swing -1.0
General election 1921: Pretoria East
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African C. W. Giovanetti 1,534 76.3 +17.6
Independent E. Burgess47623.7New
Majority 1,05852.6N/A
Turnout 2,01064.2−6.6
South African hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Pretoria East [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African C. W. Giovanetti 1,489 60.8 −15.5
Labour R. Sharp96039.2New
Majority 52921.6N/A
Turnout 2,44980.5+16.4
South African hold Swing N/A
General election 1929: Pretoria East [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African C. W. Giovanetti 1,754 67.1 +6.3
National H. Toms86032.9New
Majority 89434.2N/A
Turnout 2,61480.0−0.5
South African hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1933: Pretoria East [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African C. W. Giovanetti 3,695 77.2 +10.1
Roos A. Davis1,09022.8New
Majority 2,60554.4N/A
Turnout 4,78567.5−12.5
South African hold Swing N/A
General election 1938: Pretoria East [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
United C. W. Clark 3,926 74.8 −2.4
Independent G. H. Wilsenach1,32325.2New
Majority 2,60349.6−4.8
Turnout 5,24971.2+3.7
United hold Swing N/A

References

  1. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 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.