1929 South African general election explained

Country:South Africa
Flag Year:1928
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:1924 South African general election
Previous Year:1924
Election Date:12 June 1929
Next Election:1933 South African general election
Next Year:1933
Seats For Election:All 148 seats in the House of Assembly
Majority Seats:75
Registered:461,820
Turnout:75.34% (1.89pp)
Image1:JBM Hertzog - SA (cropped).jpg
Leader1:J. B. M. Hertzog
Party1:National Party (South Africa)
Last Election1:35.25%, 63 seats
Seats1:78
Seat Change1: 15
Popular Vote1:141,579
Percentage1:41.17%
Swing1: 5.92pp
Leader2:Jan Smuts
Party2:South African Party
Last Election2:47.04%, 53 seats
Seats2:61
Seat Change2: 8
Popular Vote2:159,896
Percentage2:46.50%
Swing2: 0.54pp
Leader3:Disputed
Party3:Labour Party (South Africa)
Last Election3:14.35%, 18 seats
Seats3:8
Seat Change3: 10
Popular Vote3:33,919
Percentage3:9.86%
Swing3: 4.49pp
Prime Minister
Before Election:J. B. M. Hertzog
Before Party:National Party (South Africa)
After Election:J. B. M. Hertzog
After Party:National Party (South Africa)

General elections were held in South Africa on 12 June 1929.[1] The National Party under J. B. M. Hertzog won an outright majority in the House of Assembly. Hertzog had the opportunity to form a government without the aid of the Labour Party. In fact the Pact government continued, with two ministers from the Creswell Labour faction remaining in office. The National Party remained the dominant party, for its second consecutive term.

Due to the split in the Labour Party, just eight MPs were elected for the party, of whom only four sat on the government benches.[2] The leadership disputed between Colonel Frederic Creswell (of the Creswell Labour faction) and Walter Madeley (from the National Council Labour faction) following the split.

Delimitation of electoral divisions

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 fifth delimitation report of 1928, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1923) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.[3]

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Elections in South Africa . African Elections Database . 21 February 2016.
  2. The South African Constitution, p. 135
  3. South Africa 1982, p. 129