1961 South African general election

General elections were held in South Africa on 18 October 1961.[1] They were the first general elections after South Africa became a republic following the 1960 South African referendum. The National Party under H. F. Verwoerd won a majority in the House of Assembly.

1961 South African general election

← 1958 18 October 1961 1966 →

All 156 general roll seats in the House of Assembly
79 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,811,160
Turnout44.55% (Decrease 29.81pp)
  First party Second party
 
Zuid Afrikaanse premier dr. H. Verwoerd, Bestanddeelnr 911-1297 (cropped).jpg
Sir De Villiers Graaff 1960.jpg
Leader H. F. Verwoerd De Villiers Graaff
Party National United
Last election 55.54%, 103 seats 42.57%, 53 seats
Seats won 105 49
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 4
Popular vote 370,395 261,361
Percentage 46.44% 35.28%
Swing Decrease 9.10pp Decrease 7.29pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Parlementslede van die Progressiewe Party 1960 (cropped).jpg
Henry Allan Fagan c.1916 (cropped).jpg
Leader Jan Steytler Henry Allan Fagan
Party Progressive National Union
Last election Did not exist Did not exist
Seats won 1 1
Seat change New party New party
Popular vote 69,045 50,279
Percentage 8.66% 6.30%
Swing New party New party

Results by province

Prime Minister before election

H. F. Verwoerd
National

Elected Prime Minister

H. F. Verwoerd
National

The National Union Party - led by Japie Basson and ex-Chief Justice Henry Allan Fagan in alliance with the United Party - had been formed as a "bridge" to the United Party by disgrunted ex-Nationalists who were unhappy with Verwoerd's leadership, aiming at the National, Afrikaner electorate. With the exception of the constituency of Bezuidenhout, won by Basson in a landslide, the party failed and later merged with the United Party.

The elections also saw the first general election appearance of the liberal Progressive Party, which had broken away from the United Party in 1959. The new party retained one MP, in the form of Helen Suzman. She was to remain its sole parliamentary representative until 1974.

Changes in franchise

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End of black representation

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During the previous Parliament the seats of the three MPs and four Senators representing black South Africans had been abolished. The 1961 election produced the first Parliament with no representation at all for black South Africans.[2]

Coloured Representative Members

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The second election for the four Coloured representative members took place on 4 October 1961, before the (white voters only) general election on 18 October 1961. Under the Separate Representation of Voters Act 1951, the members were to serve until the dissolution of the new Parliament.

The four seats were won by Independents, with United Party support. The recently formed Progressive Party did not contest the four vacancies.[3]

Reduction in voting age

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This was the first election after the passage of the Electoral Law Amendment Act, No. 30 of 1958, which reduced the voting age for white voters from 21 to 18.[4]

Delimitation of electoral divisions

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The South Africa Act 1909 had provided for a delimitation commission to define the boundaries for each electoral division, for general roll voters in the four provinces. The representation by province, under the eleventh delimitation report of 1958, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1953) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.[5]

This was only the second general election, in South African history, where the boundaries were unchanged from the previous election.

Provinces Cape Natal Orange Free State Transvaal Total
Divisions 52 (54) 16 (15) 14 (13) 68 150

Composition at the dissolution

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At the end of the 12th Parliament elected since the Union of 1910, when it was dissolved in 1961, the House of Assembly consisted of two groups of members. White voters were represented by 156 general roll members and coloured voters in Cape Province by four white MPs known at the time as Coloured Representative Members (CRM).

The general election only affected the representatives of white voters. The other members were elected on a different date (see above).

The representation by party and province, at the dissolution was:-[6]

Province National United Progressive National Union CRM Total
Cape (general) 33 14 5 - - 52
Cape (CRM) - - - - 4 4
Natal 2 11 3 - - 16
Orange Free State 14 - - - - 14
South-West Africa 5 - - 1 - 6
Transvaal 48 17 3 - - 68
Total 102 42 11 1 4 160

Results

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A total of 70 seats were uncontested, of which 50 were won by the National Party and 20 by the United Party.

 
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
National Party370,39546.44105+2
United Party281,36135.2849–4
Progressive Party69,0458.661New
National Union50,2796.301New
Conservative Workers' Party8,5541.070New
United National South West Party6,8560.8600
Independent Republican Party2,9030.360New
Liberal Party2,4610.3100
Independents5,7070.7200
Coloured Representative Members40
Total797,561100.00160–3
Valid votes797,56199.44
Invalid/blank votes4,5180.56
Total votes802,079100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,811,16044.29
Source: Potgieter[7]

By province

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Province National United Progressive National Union Independents Total
Cape (general) 34 18 0 0 0 52
Cape (CRM) 0 0 0 0 4 4
Natal 2 14 0 0 0 16
Orange Free State 14 0 0 0 0 14
South-West Africa 6 0 0 0 0 6
Transvaal 49 17 1 1 0 68
Total 105 49 1 1 4 160

By electoral division

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Province
Constituency
National
United
National Union
Progressive
Conservative Workers'
Liberal
Independent
Invalid/blank
Total
Registered voters
Turnout
Cape of Good Hope Albany 6,069 1,175 64 7,308 11,521 63.43
Aliwal 5,148 3,767 60 8,975 9,679 92.73
Beaufort West Unopposed
Bellville 8,274 3,995 71 12,340 14,953 82.53
Ceres Unopposed
Constantia 7,653 1,115 43 8,811 13,499 65.27
Cradock Unopposed
De Aar—Colesberg Unopposed
Fort Beaufort 4,962 3,597 41 8,600 9,388 91.61
George 7,624 1,379 506 45 9,554 10,967 87.12
Gordonia Unopposed
Graaff-Reinet Unopposed
Green Point Unopposed
Hottentots-Holland 5,806 4,264 49 10,119 10,926 92.61
Humansdorp 5,979 3,154 20 9,153 10,414 87.89
Cape Town Gardens Unopposed
Kimberley North 6,566 4,004 71 10,641 12,213 87.13
Kimberley South 6,359 4,925 43 11,327 12,629 89.69
King William’s Town Unopposed
Kuruman Unopposed
Maitland 4,610 1,688 3,703 27 10,028 12,336 81.29
Malmesbury Unopposed
Moorreesburg Unopposed
Mossel Bay Unopposed
Namakwaland Unopposed
East London North 6,158 2,519 58 8,735 12,984 67.28
East London City 6,053 1,277 40 7,370 12,304 59.90
Oudtshoorn Unopposed
Paarl 7,272 2,893 36 10,201 11,676 87.37
Parow Unopposed
Pinelands 6,433 2,881 68 9,382 12,730 73.70
Piketberg Unopposed
Port Elizabeth North 6,763 3,995 29 10,787 13,842 77.93
Port Elizabeth Central Unopposed
Port Elizabeth South 5,896 3,166 74 9,136 13,189 69.27
Port Elizabeth West Unopposed
Prieska 5,059 3,244 40 8,343 9,100 91.68
Queenstown 5,706 5,337 78 11,121 11,440 97.21
Rondebosch Unopposed
Sea Point 6,199 3,428 53 9,680 12,997 74.48
Simonstown 6,244 1,612 60 7,916 13,071 60.56
Somerset East Unopposed
Salt River 4,670 2,190 56 6,916 10,757 64.29
Stellenbosch 7,465 2,556 721 43 10,785 13,247 81.41
Swellendam 5,552 3,762 61 9,375 10,277 91.22
Transkeian Territories Unopposed
Uitenhage Unopposed
False Bay 6,731 3,781 57 10,569 12,750 82.89
Vasco Unopposed
Vryburg Unopposed
Worcester 6,832 3,175 56 10,063 11,424 88.09
Wynberg 6,311 1,911 18 8,240 11,402 72.27
Natal Drakensberg Unopposed
Durban—Berea 5,451 4,568 58 10,077 12,986 77.60
Durban—Musgrave 5,181 4,222 33 9,436 12,575 75.04
Durban North 6,167 3,991 91 10,249 13,463 76.13
Durban Point Unopposed
Durban Central 5,349 504 43 5,896 12,167 48.46
Durban-Umbilo Unopposed
Durban Umlazi Unopposed
Natal South Coast 4,956 2,367 115 104 7,542 10,164 74.20
Newcastle 5,919 3,646 65 9,630 11,123 86.58
Pietermaritzburg District 4,014 3,839 83 7,936 11,488 69.08
Pietermaritzburg City 3,915 3,282 129 7,326 13,621 53.78
Pinetown 5,032 3,064 79 8,175 11,506 71.05
Umhlatuzana Unopposed
Vryheid 5,555 2,804 109 8,468 9,768 86.69
Zululand 4,200 5,856 104[a] 55 10,215 11,738 87.03
Orange Free State Bethlehem Unopposed
Bloemfontein District Unopposed
Bloemfontein East 7,485 3,201 16 10,702 14,830 72.16
Bloemfontein West 8,076 3,645 16 11,737 14,678 79.96
Fauresmith—Boshof Unopposed
Harrismith Unopposed
Heilbron Unopposed
Kroonstad 7,524 1,837 65 9,426 11,133 84.67
Ladybrand Unopposed
Odendaalsrus 7,797 2,304 49 10,150 13,445 75.49
Smithfield Unopposed
Vredefort Unopposed
Welkom 8,217 3,890 32 12,139 15,904 76.33
Winburg Unopposed
South-West Africa Etosha Unopposed
Karas 2,954 2,113[b] 26 5,093 5,722 89.01
Middelland 3,264 2,135[b] 40 5,439 6,560 82.91
Namib Unopposed
Omaruru Unopposed
Windhoek 3,709 2,608[b] 74 6,391 8,021 79.68
Transvaal Alberton 7,099 2,094 29 9,222 13,429 68.67
Benoni 3,957 1,293 52 5,302 12,112 43.77
Bethal-Middelburg 5,757 2,521 51 8,329 10,216 81.53
Bezuidenhout 1,983 6,507 26 8,516 11,839 71.93
Boksburg 6,920 5,413 35 12,368 14,051 88.02
Brakpan 6,158 3,629 96 9,883 12,559 78.69
Brits Unopposed
Christiana 6,438 2,322 51 8,811 10,015 87.98
Edenvale 6,509 3,812 29 10,350 13,781 75.10
Ermelo 5,520 2,811 71 8,402 9,926 84.65
Florida 4,473 6,407 28 10,908 12,750 85.55
Geduld 7,006 3,576 33 10,615 13,922 76.25
Germiston 6,239 2,053 31 8,323 11,015 75.56
Germiston District 3,675 6,691 22 10,388 13,362 77.74
Groblersdal Unopposed
Heidelberg Unopposed
Hercules Unopposed
Hillbrow 5,564 1,346 45 6,955 12,690 54.81
Hospital 4,799 992 30 5,821 10,877 53.52
Houghton 4,841 5,405 69 10,315 12,771 80.77
Innesdal Unopposed
Jeppes Unopposed
Johannesburg North 5,413 4,541 67 10,021 13,245 75.66
Kempton Park Unopposed
Kensington Unopposed
Klerksdorp 8,912 3,226 108 33 12,279 15,705 78.19
Krugersdorp 6,023 3,831 47 9,901 12,555 78.86
Langlaagte 5,891 2,325 58 8,274 11,844 69.86
Lichtenburg Unopposed
Losberg Unopposed
Lydenburg—Barberton 5,326 2,849 79 8,254 9,758 84.59
Maraisburg Unopposed
Marico 5,429 2,390 54 7,873 9,061 86.89
Mayfair 5,431 2,039 34 7,504 11,176 67.14
Nelspruit 5,790 3,059 37 8,886 10,564 84.12
Nigel Unopposed
North East Rand Unopposed
North West Rand 6,495 4,774 29 11,298 13,118 86.13
Orange Grove 5,363 4,846 65 10,274 12,594 81.58
Parktown 5,100 5,015 65 10,180 12,458 81.71
Pietersburg 6,201 2,200 58 8,459 10,766 78.57
Potchefstroom Unopposed
Pretoria District 6,753 3,666 82 10,501 12,642 83.06
Pretoria East 9,155 2,622 89 11,866 16,119 73.61
Pretoria—Rissik 6,149 6,713 40 12,902 14,629 88.19
Pretoria Central Unopposed
Pretoria—Sunnyside 7,528 4,801 27 12,356 15,521 79.61
Pretoria West Unopposed
Prinshof Unopposed
Randfontein 6,227 3,280 120 9,627 11,772 81.78
Roodepoort 7,532 3,284 36 10,852 13,245 81.93
Rosettenville Unopposed
Rustenburg 5,886 2,544 40 8,470 10,448 81.07
Soutpansberg Unopposed
Springs Unopposed
Standerton 5,340 3,139 58 8,537 10,066 84.81
Turffontein Unopposed
Vanderbijl Park Unopposed
Ventersdorp 6,509 2,805 55 9,369 11,677 80.23
Vereeniging 6,465 4,745 60 11,270 13,043 86.41
Von Brandis Unopposed
Wakketstroom Unopposed
Waterberg Unopposed
Westdene 6,167 2,137 39 8,343 11,859 70.35
Witbank Unopposed
Wolmaransstad 6,611 2,142 20 8,773 10,633 82.51
Wonderboom Unopposed
Yeoville Unopposed
Source: Government Gazette 110

Notes

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  1. ^ Withdrew before election day
  2. ^ a b c United National South West Party

References

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  1. ^ Stultz, Newell M.; Butler, Jeffrey (March 1963). "The South African General Election of 1961". Political Science Quarterly. 78 (1). Academy of Political Science: 86–110. doi:10.2307/2146669. JSTOR 2146669.
  2. ^ In No Uncertain Terms, page 44.
  3. ^ Keesing’s Contemporary Archives, 1961–1962, page 18449
  4. ^ Horrell, Muriel. A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa, 1957–1958 (PDF). South African Institute of Race Relations. p. 10. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  5. ^ South Africa 1982, page 129 (table setting out delimitations of seats by province, the relevant one being that of 1958)
  6. ^ Keesing's Contemporary Archives, 1960–1961, page 18449
  7. ^ Dirk J. Potgieter (1971) Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Volume 4, p273
  • In No Uncertain Terms, by Helen Suzman (Mandarin Paperback 1994)
  • Keesing's Contemporary Archives
  • South Africa 1982 Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa, published by Chris van Rensburg Publications