Pretoria East (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Pretoria East
Pretoria-Oos
Former constituency for the South African House of Assembly
Location of Pretoria East within Pretoria (1910)
Province	Transvaal
Electorate	38,901 (1989)
Former constituency
Created	1910 1974
Abolished	1966 1994
Number of members	1
Last MHA	(NP)
Replaced by	Gauteng

Pretoria East 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.

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 one of relatively few seats in Transvaal outside Johannesburg to be held by the Unionist Party. Notably, in the first House of Assembly election in 1910, Prime Minister Louis Botha stood in the seat and lost to Unionist candidate J. P. Fitzpatrick. It changed hands only twice in its history: in 1921, when the Unionist Party merged with the South African Party, and in 1953, 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

Election		Member	Party
	1910	J. P. Fitzpatrick	Unionist
	1915
	1920	C. W. Giovanetti
	1921		South African
	1924
	1929
	1933
	1938	member unknown	United Party
	1943
	1948
	1953		National Party
	1958
	1961
	1966	constituency abolished

Election		Member	Party
	1974	member unknown	National Party
	1977	J. J. Lloyd
	1981	Theo Alant
	1987
	1989
	1994	constituency abolished

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

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	J. P. Fitzpatrick	1,231	52.0	New
	South African	Louis Botha	1,116	48.0	New
Majority			115	4.0	N/A
Turnout			2,347		N/A
	Unionist win (new seat)

General election 1915: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	J. P. Fitzpatrick	1,495	61.3	+9.3
	National	K. Rood	644	26.4	New
	Labour	A. Grant	292	12.0	New
	Independent	R. J. Smith	6	0.2	New
Majority			851	34.9	N/A
Turnout			2,437	76.7	N/A
	Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	C. W. Giovanetti	1,268	58.7	−2.6
	National	W. F. Mondriaan	471	21.8	−4.6
	Labour	G. H. McLean	416	19.3	+7.3
	Independent	G. L. Hutchinson	5	0.2	New
Majority			797	36.9	+2.0
Turnout			2,160	70.8	−5.9
	Unionist hold		Swing	-1.0

General election 1921: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	C. W. Giovanetti	1,534	76.3	+17.6
	Independent	E. Burgess	476	23.7	New
Majority			1,058	52.6	N/A
Turnout			2,010	64.1	−6.7
	South African hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1924: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	C. W. Giovanetti	1,489	60.8	−15.5
	Labour	R. Sharp	960	39.2	New
Majority			529	21.6	N/A
Turnout			2,449	80.5	+16.4
	South African hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1929: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	C. W. Giovanetti	1,754	67.1	+6.3
	National	H. Toms	860	32.9	New
Majority			894	34.2	N/A
Turnout			2,614	80.0	−0.5
	South African hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1933: Pretoria East ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	C. W. Giovanetti	3,695	77.2	+10.1
	Roos	A. Davis	1,090	22.8	New
Majority			2,605	54.4	N/A
Turnout			4,785	67.5	−12.5
	South African 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. Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.
3. South Africa 1980/81: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
4. South Africa 1983: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications.
5. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 10751. 22 May 1987. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.
6. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 12109. 20 September 1989. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.