General elections were held in South Africa on 17 May 1933 to elect the 150 members of the House of Assembly.[1] The National Party won half the seats in the House, but the coalition with the South African Party continued.
Since the 1929 election several changes had been made to the franchise laws. Adult white women were enfranchised in 1930. In 1931 all European males over the age of 21 were enfranchised (eliminating property and wage qualifications for that section of the population).[2]
One effect of these changes, which were not extended to the non-white population of the Union, was to dilute the influence of the non-white electors in Cape Province and Natal.
Delimitation of electoral divisionsedit
The South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division. The representation by province, under the sixth delimitation report of 1932, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1928) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.[3]
Provinces
Cape
Natal
Orange Free State
Transvaal
Total
Divisions
61 (58)
16 (17)
16 (18)
57 (55)
150 (148)
Resultsedit
The vote totals in the table below may not give a complete picture of the balance of political opinion, because of unopposed elections (where no votes were cast) and because contested seats may not have been fought by a candidate from all major parties.
As the two largest parties were in coalition together, the opposition to the government was weaker and more fragmented than in any other election in South African history.
An alternative breakdown of members, distinguishing between supporters and opponents of the coalition, was (pro Coalition) NP 75, SAP 61, Creswell Labour 2, Roos 2; (opposition) National Council Labour 2, Natal Home Ruler 2, Independents 6.[5] Another interpretation, is NP 75, SAP 61, Labour 4, Roos Party 2, Home Rule group 2 and Independents 6.[6]
Referencesedit
Keesing's Contemporary Archives
The Rise of the South African Reich, by Brian Bunting, (first published by Penguin Africa Library in 1964 and revised in 1969) accessed on an ANC website 3 August 2010
^The Rise of the South African Reich, chapter 2: The First Nationalist Government
April 10, 2024
1933, south, african, general, election, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sc. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1933 South African general election news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message General elections were held in South Africa on 17 May 1933 to elect the 150 members of the House of Assembly 1 The National Party won half the seats in the House but the coalition with the South African Party continued 1933 South African general election 1929 17 May 1933 1938 All 150 seats in the House of Assembly76 seats needed for a majorityRegistered957 636Turnout33 77 41 57pp First party Second party Leader J B M Hertzog Jan SmutsParty National South AfricanLast election 41 17 78 seats 46 50 61 seatsSeats won 75 61Seat change 3Popular vote 101 159 71 486Percentage 31 61 22 34 Swing 9 55pp 24 17pp Third party Fourth party Leader Tielman Roos Walter MadeleyParty Roos LabourLast election Did not exist 9 86 8 seatsSeats won 2 2Seat change New party 6Popular vote 27 441 20 276Percentage 8 58 6 34 Swing New party 3 52ppResults by provincePrime Minister before electionJ B M HertzogNational Elected Prime Minister J B M HertzogNational Contents 1 Changes to the franchise 2 Delimitation of electoral divisions 3 Results 4 ReferencesChanges to the franchise editSince the 1929 election several changes had been made to the franchise laws Adult white women were enfranchised in 1930 In 1931 all European males over the age of 21 were enfranchised eliminating property and wage qualifications for that section of the population 2 One effect of these changes which were not extended to the non white population of the Union was to dilute the influence of the non white electors in Cape Province and Natal Delimitation of electoral divisions editThe South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division The representation by province under the sixth delimitation report of 1932 is set out in the table below The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous 1928 delimitation If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged 3 Provinces Cape Natal Orange Free State Transvaal TotalDivisions 61 58 16 17 16 18 57 55 150 148 Results editThe vote totals in the table below may not give a complete picture of the balance of political opinion because of unopposed elections where no votes were cast and because contested seats may not have been fought by a candidate from all major parties As the two largest parties were in coalition together the opposition to the government was weaker and more fragmented than in any other election in South African history nbsp PartyVotes Seats National Party101 15931 6175 3South African Party71 48622 34610Roos Party27 4418 582NewLabour Party20 2766 342 6Natal Home Rule Party12 3283 850NewIndependents87 32127 2910 9Total320 011100 00150 2Valid votes320 01198 95Invalid blank votes3 4061 05Total votes323 417100 00Registered voters turnout957 63633 77Source South Africa 1982 4 An alternative breakdown of members distinguishing between supporters and opponents of the coalition was pro Coalition NP 75 SAP 61 Creswell Labour 2 Roos 2 opposition National Council Labour 2 Natal Home Ruler 2 Independents 6 5 Another interpretation is NP 75 SAP 61 Labour 4 Roos Party 2 Home Rule group 2 and Independents 6 6 References editKeesing s Contemporary Archives The Rise of the South African Reich by Brian Bunting first published by Penguin Africa Library in 1964 and revised in 1969 accessed on an ANC website 3 August 2010 Smuts A Reappraisal by Bernard Friedman George Allen amp Unwin 1975 ISBN 0 04 920045 3 South Africa 1982 Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa published by Chris van Rensburg Publications The South African Constitution by H J May 3rd edition 1955 Juta amp Co Keesing s Contemporary Archives 1931 1934 page 747 The South African Constitution by H J May 3rd edition 1955 Juta amp Co pp 92 93 South Africa 1982 page 129 South Africa 1982 pp174 176 The South African Constitution page 135 The Rise of the South African Reich chapter 2 The First Nationalist Government Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1933 South African general election amp oldid 1215331150, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
