South African general election, 1938
Encyclopedia
The 1938 South African general election was held, on 18 May 1938, for the 150 seats in the House of Assembly
of the Union
of South Africa
. The United Party won an absolute majority.
(led by the Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog) and the South African Party
(whose leader was the Deputy Prime Minister Jan Smuts
) were in coalition at the time of the South African general election, 1933
.
After the election the two coalition parties fused, to become the United South African National Party (commonly known as the United Party). The formal launch of the new party took place on 5 December 1934.
Those members of the National Party, who did not accept the fusion, constituted themselves as the Purified National Party
(PNP) in June 1934. The leader of the new party was Dr D.F. Malan, who had been the National Party leader in Cape Province. Eighteen MPs joined the PNP caucus. Dr Malan became the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Assembly.
The members of the South African Party, who rejected the fusion, formed the Dominion Party. Its leader was Colonel C.F. Stallard.
Black voters had never been entitled to vote in Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Few had ever qualified in Natal.
The voters’ rolls, for 1935, were broken down by race in each province (using the racial classifications in use in South Africa at the time).
No black voters were eligible to participate in the 1938 general election, apart from the one from Natal. The three (white) Native Representative Members from Cape Province were elected on a different date, for a term (expiring on 30 June immediately following a period of five years after the previous election) unaffected by dissolutions of Parliament.
The first group of native representatives had been elected in June 1937. The term for which they were elected expired on 30 June 1942. The representatives took their seats in the House of Assembly in 1938, and sat as Independent MPs.
had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division. The representation by province, under the seventh delimitation report of 1937, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1932) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.
The above table does not include the three Native representative seats in Cape Province, which were not included in the delimitation of the general roll seats under the South Africa Act 1909.
The total registered electorate was 1,052,652. The votes cast were 835,378 (including 5,481 spoilt votes).
The overall composition of the House, set out by province and party and excluding the native representative seats, after the general election was as below.
House of Assembly of South Africa
The House of Assembly was the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa from 1910 to 1984, and latterly the white representative house of the Tricameral Parliament from 1984 to 1994, when it was replaced by the current National Assembly...
of the Union
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The United Party won an absolute majority.
Party changes since the last general election
The National PartyNational Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
(led by the Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog) and the South African Party
South African Party
The South African Party was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934.-History:The outline and foundation for the party was realized after the election of a 'South African party' in the 1910 South African general election under the leadership of Louis Botha...
(whose leader was the Deputy Prime Minister Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts
Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
) were in coalition at the time of the South African general election, 1933
South African general election, 1933
The 1933 South African general election was held for the 150 seats in the House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa, on 17 May 1933. The National Party won half the seats in the House, but the coalition with the South African Party continued....
.
After the election the two coalition parties fused, to become the United South African National Party (commonly known as the United Party). The formal launch of the new party took place on 5 December 1934.
Those members of the National Party, who did not accept the fusion, constituted themselves as the Purified National Party
Purified National Party
The Purified National Party was a break away from Hertzog's National Party which lasted from 1935 to 1948.In 1935, the United Party was formed out of the merger between Hertzog's National Party and the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts...
(PNP) in June 1934. The leader of the new party was Dr D.F. Malan, who had been the National Party leader in Cape Province. Eighteen MPs joined the PNP caucus. Dr Malan became the Leader of the Opposition, in the House of Assembly.
The members of the South African Party, who rejected the fusion, formed the Dominion Party. Its leader was Colonel C.F. Stallard.
Changes to the franchise and representation
Under the Representation of Natives Act 1936, all registered black voters in the Cape Province were removed from the common voters’ lists and placed on a special Cape Natives voters’ roll.Black voters had never been entitled to vote in Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Few had ever qualified in Natal.
The voters’ rolls, for 1935, were broken down by race in each province (using the racial classifications in use in South Africa at the time).
| Province | White | Native | Coloured | Asiatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape | 382,103 | 10,628 | 21,596 | 1,401 |
| Natal | 91,762 | 1 | 343 | 10 |
| Transvaal | 349,400 | - | - | - |
| Orange FS | 101,089 | - | - | - |
No black voters were eligible to participate in the 1938 general election, apart from the one from Natal. The three (white) Native Representative Members from Cape Province were elected on a different date, for a term (expiring on 30 June immediately following a period of five years after the previous election) unaffected by dissolutions of Parliament.
The first group of native representatives had been elected in June 1937. The term for which they were elected expired on 30 June 1942. The representatives took their seats in the House of Assembly in 1938, and sat as Independent MPs.
Delimitation of electoral divisions
The South Africa Act 1909South Africa Act 1909
The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the British Parliament which created the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for admitting Rhodesia as a fifth province of the Union in...
had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division. The representation by province, under the seventh delimitation report of 1937, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1932) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.
| Provinces | Cape | Natal | Orange Free State | Transvaal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisions | 59 (61) | 16 | 15 (16) | 60 (57) | 150 |
The above table does not include the three Native representative seats in Cape Province, which were not included in the delimitation of the general roll seats under the South Africa Act 1909.
Nominations
Candidates nominated for the election, by party, were United 150, Purified National 103, Labour 37, Dominion 33, Independent 31, Greyshirts 3 and Socialists 3. Total 360.Results
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.The total registered electorate was 1,052,652. The votes cast were 835,378 (including 5,481 spoilt votes).
| Party | Seats | Seats % | Votes | Votes % | Leader | |
| United Party United Party (South Africa) The United Party was South Africa's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. It was formed by a merger of most of Prime Minister Barry Hertzog's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts, plus the remnants of the Unionist Party... |
111 | 74.00 | 446,032 | 53.81 | General J. B. M. Hertzog | |
| Purified National Party | 27 | 18.00 | 259,543 | 31.31 | Dr D. F. Malan Daniel François Malan Daniel François Malan , more commonly known as D.F. Malan, was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. He is seen as a champion of Afrikaner nationalism. His National Party government came to power on the program of apartheid and began its comprehensive implementation.- Biography... |
|
| Dominion Party | 8 | 5.33 | 52,356 | 6.32 | Colonel C. F. Stallard Charles Stallard Colonel the Hon. Charles Frampton Stallard QC, DSO and MC was a South African lawyer, soldier and politician.... |
|
| Labour Party Labour Party (South Africa) The South African Labour Party, formed in March 1910 following discussions between trade unions and the Independent Labour Party of Transvaal, was a professedly democratic socialist party representing the interests of the white working class.-History:... |
3 | 2.00 | 48,641 | 5.87 | Walter Madeley | |
| Socialist Party | 1 | 0,67 | 4,963 | 0.60 | - | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
- | - | 17,362 | 2.09 | - | |
| Total | 150 |
The overall composition of the House, set out by province and party and excluding the native representative seats, after the general election was as below.
| Province | United | Purified National | Dominion | Labour | Socialist | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape | 38 | 20 | 1 | - | - | 59 |
| Natal | 7 | - | 7 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Orange FS | 9 | 6 | - | - | - | 15 |
| Transvaal | 57 | 1 | - | 2 | - | 60 |
| Total | 111 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 150 |