Umvoti (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Last updated
Umvoti
Former constituency
for the South African House of Assembly
Province Natal
Electorate1,871 (1924)
Former constituency
Created 1910
Abolished 1929
Number of members1
Last MHA  W. A. Deane (SAP)
Replaced byPietermaritzburg District

Umvoti was a constituency in the Natal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1929. It covered a rural area surrounding Pietermaritzburg, the provincial capital. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly.

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. The franchise used in the Natal Colony, while theoretically not restricted by race, was significantly less liberal than that of the Cape, and no more than a few hundred non-white electors ever qualified. In 1908, an estimated 200 of the 22,786 electors in the colony were of non-European descent, and by 1935, only one remained. [1] By 1958, when the last non-white voters in the Cape were taken off the rolls, Natal too had an all-white electorate. 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, which remained the case until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994. [2]

History

As in most of Natal, the electorate of Umvoti was largely English-speaking and conservative. Its first MP was George Leuchars, who briefly served in cabinet under Louis Botha, before resigning in protest against the anti-British standpoints of J. B. M. Hertzog and others in Botha's cabinet. He continued to represent Umvoti until 1924, and in the subsequent by-election, his South African Party held the seat with William Arthur Deane, who had previously contested it as an independent in 1915. In 1929, Umvoti was abolished and largely replaced by the new Pietermaritzburg District seat, although Deane moved to Pietermaritzburg North and then the unified Pietermaritzburg seat, finally retiring from parliament in 1943.

Members

ElectionMemberParty
1910 George Leuchars Independent
1915 South African
1920
1921
1924 byW. A. Deane
1924
1929 Constituency abolished

[3] [4]

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1910: Umvoti
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent George Leuchars 766 63.1 New
South African W. A. Deane44736.9New
Majority 31926.2N/A
Independent win (new seat)
General election 1915: Umvoti
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African George Leuchars 636 42.2 −20.9
National Ernest George Jansen 49332.7New
Independent W. A. Deane37825.1−11.8
Majority 1439.5N/A
Turnout 1,50779.2N/A
South African hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1920: Umvoti
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African George Leuchars 726 59.7 +17.5
National A. I. J. Nel49040.3+7.6
Majority 23619.4+9.9
Turnout 1,21666.7−12.5
South African hold Swing +5.0
General election 1921: Umvoti
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African George Leuchars 788 62.8 +3.1
National A. I. J. Nel45936.6−3.7
Independent W. T. Tonkin70.6New
Majority 32926.2+6.8
Turnout 1,25466.8+0.1
South African hold Swing +3.4
Umvoti by-election, 27 March 1924 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
South African W. A. Deane 654 46.3 −20.9
National A. I. J. Nel38427.1−5.7
Majority 27019.2−15.2
Turnout 1,41358.8−8.8
South African hold Swing -7.6

References

  1. May, H.J. (1955). The South African Constitution. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Juta & Co.
  2. "EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements". Eisa.org.za. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  3. 1 2 Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.
  4. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (1972). "House of Assembly" (vol. 5, pp. 617–636). Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou).