Umzimkulu (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Umzimkulu
Former constituency for the South African House of Assembly
Province	Natal
Former constituency
Created	1910
Abolished	1920
Number of members	1
Last MHA	Frank Reynolds (SAP)
Replaced by	Illovo

Umzimkulu was a short-lived constituency in the Natal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1920. It covered the southern end of the province, around the Umzimkulu River, and bordered both the Cape Province and Lesotho. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly.

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 Umzimkulu was largely English-speaking and conservative. Its sole MP, Frank Reynolds (referred to as "F. W. Reynolds" in some sources) was first elected as an independent in 1910 (Natal having had no party system before unification), defeating a candidate of the governing South African Party. He subsequently joined the SAP, and in 1915 was re-elected unopposed for the party. In 1920, Umzimkulu disappeared from the electoral map, largely replaced by the Illovo constituency, and Reynolds did not stand for election in the new seat.

Members

Election		Member	Party
	1910	Frank Reynolds	Independent
	1915		South African
	1920	Constituency abolished

^{[3] [4]}

Detailed results

Elections in the 1910s

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1910 South African general election § Umzimkulu.[ edit ]

General election 1910: Umzimkulu

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Frank Reynolds	534	58.6	New
	South African	J. Kirkaman	377	41.4	New
Majority			157	17.2	N/A
	Independent win (new seat)

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 1915 South African general election § Umzimkulu.[ edit ]

General election 1915: Umzimkulu

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	South African	Frank Reynolds	Unopposed
	South African hold

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. 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).