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
The mines of the Witwatersrand were an early stronghold of South African trade unionism, and this made Springs fertile ground for the Labour Party - though not quite as safe as nearby seats like Benoni or Jeppes. First won by Labour at its inaugural election in 1910 (with Walter Madeley, who moved to neighbouring Benoni on that seat's creation in 1915), it went on to change hands at every election until 1929, at which point it was won by the South African Party - they and their successor, the United Party, would hold it until 1966.
Springs was held by the governing National Party from 1966 until the end of apartheid, but was never quite a safe seat - the United Party remained a strong opposition in the constituency until their dissolution in 1977, and in the 1980s the hard-right Conservative Party made inroads, though unlike some other working-class Rand seats, they were never able to overcome the NP hold.
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