Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968

Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968
Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to provide for the further extension of the period of office of the sitting members of the House of Assembly elected under the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951; to prohibit the filling of any vacancy in the representation of any division referred to in section 6 (2) (a) or (b) of the said Act or in the representation of non-Europeans in the Senate under section 7 of the said Act; to repeal the said Act with effect from the date of dissolution of the House of Assembly; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.
Citation	Act No. 50 of 1968
Enacted by	Parliament of South Africa
Assented to	27 May 1968
Commenced	5 June 1968 / 2 March 1970
Repealed	3 September 1984
Repealed by
Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1983
Related legislation
Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951
Status: Repealed

The Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act, 1968 (Act No. 50 of 1968) was an act of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the government of B. J. Vorster, which repealed the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951.

The act provided for the expiry of the term of all members of the South African Parliament who had represented "non-European" voters, as well as preventing the election of any future members under that categorisation. ^[1]

This had the effect of removing the four members of the House of Assembly who were elected by Coloured voters in the Cape Province as well as abolishing the additional nominated seat in the Senate for the "non-European" (i.e. Coloured, as black Africans were explicitly excluded from the definition under section 1 (ii) of the 1951 act) population of the Cape Province, that had only been filled once in 1957 and had been vacant since 1962. Subsequently the House of Assembly would be elected solely by white voters.

The act was promulgated on 5 June 1968, but the repeal only took effect at the dissolution of the House of Assembly on 2 March 1970, before the general election of 22 April 1970. In the interim, the term of office of the four members was extended and the filling of any vacancy in their seats (or the vacancy of the additional Senate seat for the Coloured population of the Cape Province) was prohibited.

In 1969, Coloured citizens were given the right to elect members to the Coloured Persons Representative Council, a quasi-legislative body with limited powers.

The act was repealed by the Constitution of 1983, which created the House of Representatives to represent Coloured citizens in Parliament. ^[2]

References

1. Shevelew, Hyman R. (1969). "Marginality and the Cape Colored People". Africa Today. 16 (4): 5–8. ISSN   0001-9887.
2. "Apartheid Legislation 1850's-1970's | South African History Online". sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2025-06-16.