1970 Rhodesian general election

none May 2023 May 2023 June 2026 Rhodesia parliamentary 1965 Rhodesian general election 1965 1974 Rhodesian general election 1974 All 66 seats in the House of Assembly 34 10 April 1970 Ian Smith 1950s.jpg Ian Smith Rhodesian Front Umzingwane 50 50 39,066(European) 76.8%(European) Pat Bashford Centre Party Borrowdale (lost) – 7 New 5,619 (European) 2,147 (African) 11.0% (European) 49.6% (African) 1970 Rhodesian parliamentary election - Results by constituency.svg Results by constituency European seats on the left, African seats on the right Prime Minister Ian Smith Ian Smith Rhodesian Front Rhodesian Front General elections were held in Rhodesia on 10 April 1970.10 April 1970 House of Assembly Election https://web.archive.org/web/20190406030234/http://africanelections.tripod.com/zw.html#1970_House_of_Assembly_Election 6 April 2019 African Elections DatabaseThe New York Times Charles Mohr Smith Party Sweeps Rhodesian Election https://www.nytimes.com/1970/04/11/archives/smith-party-sweeps-rhodesian-election-smith-party-wins-rhodesian.html 11 April 1970 10 June 2024 They were the first elections to take place under the revised, republican constitution. The country had declared itself independent in November 1965, shortly after the previous elections; the Rhodesian Front government had always disliked the 1961 constitution and made sure to change it by the time of the next one. Background Following the referendum on the new constitution in June 1969, the timing of the next election was laid out: it would happen once the new Electoral Act had been put in place, and once delimitation of the new constituencies was complete. This gave opponents of the Rhodesian Front a chance to organise in time for the election. At the Rhodesian Front congress on 23 October 1969, the party chairman Ralph Nilson warned the government to avoid complacency. The Centre Party had been founded in 1968 as a non-racial party which aimed for 'Middle of the Road' political opinion; it supported "advancement of the African on merit" and gradual abolition of racial discrimination and was led by Pat Bashford; it was strongest in the urban areas. Ian Smith described it as "the real opposition". Robin James, an independent MP who had been expelled from the Rhodesian Front for opposing Ian Smith, formed the Conservative Alliance on 26 June 1969 which campaigned for the preservation of the white presence in Rhodesia. James attacked the Rhodesian Front for 'multiracial, integrationist policies'; his party was subsequently renamed the Republican Alliance. Eligible African voters also began to form political parties, among them the National People's Union which aimed to unite Africans against white supremacy without violence. Electoral system Under the 1969 constitution, the electorate of Rhodesia returned 66 members of the House of Assembly of Rhodesia. The electoral system was divided into three different classes of seat: European roll seats: 50 seats were returned by voters of European descent. African roll seats: 8 seats were returned by voters of African descent. Tribal seats: 8 seats were returned by Tribal electoral colleges made up of the Chiefs of the Tribes. Qualification of voters Qualification for being a voter depended on having sufficient means or educational achievement. All voters had to be a citizen of Rhodesia, over 21 years of age, have resided in the constituency for at least three months, and have an adequate knowledge of English and be able to sign the claim form in his or her own handwriting. There were then two rolls for which the voter might qualify, which were determined by their race. To qualify for the European voters roll, a voter had to be European, Coloured, or Asian and either: Have received an income of not less than $1,800 per annum for the previous two years, or Own immovable property worth $3,600; or Having completed four years' secondary education of a prescribed standard, have an income of not less than $1,200 per annum for the previous two years, or Having completed four years' secondary education of a prescribed standard, own immovable property worth $2,400. To qualify for the African voters roll, a voter had to be African and either: Have received an income of not less than $600 per annum for the previous two years, or Own immovable property worth $1,200; or Having completed two years' secondary education of a prescribed standard, have an income of not less than $400 per annum for the previous two years, or Having completed two years' secondary education of a prescribed standard, own immovable property worth $800. In practice very few Africans qualified, and many who met the qualification requirements refused to register to vote. Wives were deemed to meet the means qualification through their husbands' earnings or wealth, although for African voters living under a system of polygamy, only the first wife qualified. A Minister of Religion or a member of a religious order living under a vow of poverty was automatically deemed to have met the means qualification. Tribal chiefs also qualified automatically to vote. Voters were disqualified if they were insane, had been convicted of a serious criminal offence or an offence under electoral law, had been under detention or restriction for more than six months under security legislation, or had been expelled from Parliament. Some voters were also disqualified for receiving Government rations or maintenance in lieu of rations for more than a year. Constituency boundaries A delimitation commission was established by the Electoral Act of 1969, and began work in December 1969. Several of the constituencies were the same as previous constituencies, but some changes were required due to population shifts. The delimitation commission had to work with electorate figures as of 1 February, and could recommend constituencies within 20% either side of a target electorate of 1,740 (which gave a maximum of 2,088 and a minimum of 1,393). Campaign On 1 March, Clifford Dupont as 'Officer Administering the Government' signed a proclamation dissolving Parliament and bringing into effect the new constitution at midnight (Rhodesia therefore became a unilaterally-proclaimed Republic on 2 March). The general election was set for 10 April. The Centre Party announced on 4 March its intention to run 12 candidates. The party declared it accepted the constitution and therefore the independence of Rhodesia. It eventually ran 16; the Republican Alliance had 14, and there were 14 Independents. These candidates generally fell into two categories. The first category comprised candidates who were usually former members of the Rhodesian Front who had fallen out with it over the new constitution or some other issue. Max Cohen (Greendale) had resigned from the Rhodesian Front immediately before the election; Mrs Ina Bursey (Sinoia-Umvukwes) asserted that she was "sticking to the 1962 principles" of the Rhodesian Front; and William Ogley (Que Que) informed voters that he was now more conservative than the RF, just as Arthur Hubbard (Milton Park) said he was now to the right of it. The second category were those fighting rural constituencies in the interests of the farmer. Thomas Edridge (Marandellas) declared he wanted to restore profit to farming. Harry Affleck (Gwebi) and Roy Ashburner (Sinoia-Umvukwes) stood explicitly as farmers' representatives. A victory for the Rhodesian Front was regarded as inevitable. Ian Smith, helped by the presence of the Republican Alliance, portrayed his government as not being racialist, and sought to postpone the question of what to do about the farming industry until after the election. In the event, the Rhodesian Front won every seat; the most marginal was Salisbury City, which included the large Salisbury community of Indian shopkeepers, and where a mixed-race candidate was only 40 votes off winning. The Centre Party's appeal to non-racial politics played well only among African voters who gave them seven out of the eight seats, with only one going to the National People's Union. Results File:Rhodesia election 1970.svg European roll African roll Rhodesian Front 39066 50 50 0 Centre Party 5619 0 2147 7 7 New Republican Alliance 1633 0 0 New National People's Union 1000 1 1 New Rhodesian African Party 301 0 New United National Progressive Party 70 0 New All-African People's Party 63 0 New Independents 4534 0 747 0 0 –5 Tribal representatives 8 New +1 65475 8326 European roll seats ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%ARUNDEL1,925 (81.5%)Andrew SkeenRF1,19376.1Alfred Priestley KnottenbeltCP37523.9AVONDALE1,993 (79.2%)Dr Colin Eric BarlowRF1,19775.8Dr Robert West FynnCP38224.2BELLEVUE1,949 (78.1%)Wallace Evelyn StuttafordRF1,36389.5Alfred Henry VincentRA16010.5BELVEDERE1,882 (79.1%)Dennis DivarisRF1,04670.3Edmund Thomas Thurlow NelsonCP34923.5John Fraser Caladine WhitingRA936.2BORROWDALE1,857 (83.3%)Douglas Hamilton RitchieRF96962.6Thomas Henry Patrick BashfordCP57837.4BRAESIDE1,904Herbert Douglas TannerRFUnopposedBULAWAYO CENTRAL1,627Sydney Henderson MillarRFUnopposedBULAWAYO DISTRICT1,792 (81.7%)Alexander MoseleyRF1,17380.1John Stakesby-LewisCP29119.9BULAWAYO EAST1,699 (81.6%)Elias BroombergRF90465.2Arthur SarifCP48234.8BULAWAYO NORTH1,677 (75.6%)John James WrathallRF1,19794.5Austen Sales PerkinsRA705.5BULAWAYO SOUTH1,583 (68.3%)Arthur McCarterRF98891.4Ernest Leonard GarlandRA938.6CHARTER1,715Rowan CronjéRFUnopposedEASTERN1,413Alan James Wroughton MacleodRFUnopposedGATOOMA1,557Albert Gannaway MellsRFUnopposedGREENDALE1,974 (79.0%)Mark PartridgeRF1,12372.0Max CohenInd RF43628.0GWEBI1,527 (83.2%)Thomas Ian Fraser SandemanRF94174.1Harry AffleckInd32925.9GWELO1,505 (70.9%)Desmond Lardner-BurkeRF93988.0James William RedmondRA12812.0HARTLEY1,710P. K. van der BylRFUnopposedHATFIELD1,994 (74.3%)Lance Bales SmithRF92762.6Peter Chalmers ChalkerInd RF55537.4HIGHLANDS NORTH1,861 (81.6%)Bernard PonterRF1,01767.0Mrs. Sheila Maria NolanCP50233.0HIGHLANDS SOUTH1,854 (80.0%)Richard Hope HallRF1,13376.3Jeremy Ralph Bushton BroomeCP35123.7HILLCREST1,990John Arthur NewingtonRFUnopposedHILLSIDE1,892 (79.6%)Dennis Fawcett PhillipsRF1,12074.4Hilary Stephen NortonCP38625.6JAMESON1,874 (75.8%)John Peter Broberg NilsonRF1,20985.1Christopher Wordsworth PhillipsRA21214.9KAROI1,534 (78.4%)Daniel Jacobus BrinkRF78465.2Bertram Cecil William HackingInd41934.8MABELREIGN1,898 (75.0%)Patrick Palmer-OwenRF1,31992.7Michael Anthony CrowRA1047.3MARANDELLAS1,515 (86.0%)David Colville SmithRF94572.5Thomas EdridgeInd35827.5MARLBOROUGH1,942 (73.9%)William Michie IrvineRF1,24286.5Peter Andrew Thomas YoungInd19413.5MATOBO1,650Allan SavoryRFUnopposedMAZOE1,644 (75.0%)George Rollo HaymanRF1,07587.2Ernest Frederick KonschelInd15812.8MIDLANDS1,478Roger HawkinsRFUnopposedMILTON PARK1,927 (69.4%)Arthur Leonard LazellRF1,14685.7Arthur Valentine Curwen Fortescue HubbardInd19214.3MOUNT PLEASANT1,844 (81.9%)Jack HowmanRF91360.5Nicholas John McNallyCP59739.5MTOKO1,670 (79.5%)Rodney Guy Swayne SimmondsRF88066.3Guy Kerry WebbInd44733.7QUEEN'S PARK1,786 (79.5%)Ian Finlay McLeanRF1,30191.7Alford Graham CoppardRA1188.3QUE QUE1,499 (80.7%)Jacobus Johannes BurgerRF89974.3William Ernest OgleyInd31125.7RAYLTON1,713 (82.2%)Thomas Alexander PinchenRF1,11479.1Stanley Cyril HowardCP23216.5William Edward BaileyRA624.4RUSAPE1,466Johannes Jacobus Lodewickus de KockRFUnopposedSALISBURY CENTRAL1,937 (66.1%)Theodore Maurice EllisonRF1,06483.1Robin Hugh JamesRA21716.9SALISBURY CITY1,956 (77.9%)Edward Aylett Sutton-PryceRF65142.7Gaston ThornicroftInd61140.1Francis Hugh KeenlysideCP15710.3Isaline Cecily Dunsterville JamesRA805.3John Robert LentellInd241.6SALISBURY NORTH1,953 (75.7%)Andre Sothern HollandRF1,00167.7George Henry TanserCP47732.3SELUKWE1,431 (76.5%)Charles Falcon Scott ClarkRF98690.0Patricia Mary McHughRA10910.0SHABANI1,457Ian Birt Harper DillonRFUnopposedSINOIA/UMWUKWES1,633 (77.1%)Frederick Augustus AlexanderRF75960.3Roy William Jack AshburnerInd43834.8Ina Antoinette BurseyInd RF624.9UMTALI EAST1,567 (77.3%)Bernard Horace MussettRF1,06187.5William LambCP15112.5UMTALI WEST1,622 (74.7%)John ChristieRF98881.6Geoffrey Chilcott TaylorCP19315.9Hajo SpandowRA302.5UMZINGWANE1,719 (79.6%)Ian SmithRF1,25291.5Samuel Albert GelmanCP1168.5VICTORIA2,038George Holland HartleyRFUnopposedWANKIE1,540Reginald Edward Dennis CowperRFUnopposedWATERFALLS1,847 (76.0%)Arthur Philip SmithRF1,24788.8Maurice Alan George DedmanRA15711.2 African roll seats ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%HARARE1,505 (57.3%)Edward Gabriel WatungwaCP52761.1Gervase MuchadaNPU15317.7Patrick John Daniel RubatikaInd11913.8Mandishona Donson MatimbaAAPP637.3INSUKAMINI491 (54.6%)Lewis Alban NdhlovuCP9736.2Phillip Elijah ChigogoInd8230.6Sidney Sidwell Bonke KeyiNPU7427.6William Henry KonaUNPP155.6KUNYASI1,488 (48.5%)Josiah GondoNPU35348.9Johnson Matariro HungweCP22130.6Cephas Asaph NapataRAP9312.9Jepson Mutumwa MashingaidzeUNPP334.6Lazarus DembetembeInd223.0MABVAZUWA1,566 (57.8%)Lazarus MasendaCP42046.4Oswald NyamwanzaNPU26629.4Selby HlatshwayoRAP9110.1Ambrose Charles MajongweInd697.6Davidson Murambiwa JahwiInd596.5MATOJENI646 (42.3%)Wening Shake MorakaCP18768.5Billy Boarder MataweleRAP4115.0Samson ChibiNPU238.4Michael Malisela MojapeloUNPP228.1MPOPOMA539 (72.9%)Lwazi Joel MahlanguCP17444.3Cephas HlabanganaInd6717.0Cleaphas Chihota ChirembaInd6015.3Abishai Chimbadzwa MutasaInd5413.7Zachariah Tongai ChigumiraRAP389.7NEMAKONDE1,453 (43.7%)Ronald T.D. SadombaCP28144.3Chad Magumise ChipunzaNPU13120.6Herbert Munukwa ManoInd8713.7Paul Harbinett Joseph ChanetsaInd8313.1Eric GwanzuraInd457.1Simon Chibvawure ParaffinRAP81.3NTSHONALANGA638 (42.3%)Micah Mahamba BhebeCP24088.9Austin Ruzayi MunyoroRAP3011.1 Tribal seats All the successful tribal MPs formed the Rhodesia Electoral Union on election. Electoral collegeCandidateVotes%MASHONALANDHIGHVELDTadeos Mutidzwa Chikonyara7535.9Bartholomew Augustine Mabika6330.1Calogreedy Chatambudza Zimbudzama3315.8Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo3215.3Matthew Kwenda41.9Nelson Saite Mutambirwa21.0LOWVELDRanches Chereni Makaya7339.2Chikati Merkiya Makamure7339.2Elias Mapiya Badza4021.5MANICANaboth Absolom Gandanzara5846.4Barnabas Jonathan Munyaradzi Mutasa3124.8Tafirenyika Paulus Makumbe129.6Allenby Thodlana118.8Percy Hudson Mkudu97.2Tiripano Francis Zhangazha43.2Oliver Chakonda – –ZAMBEZIAaron Takawira Mungate20672.8Stephen Amos Dzuka Chirenda3713.1Luke Mangirazi Kandengwa248.5Jockoniah Stanley Chigumbura165.7MATABELELANDKARIBAEnock Gudu Sifuya2840.6Amos Zikhundulu Nhliziyo2333.3Sidney Mugore Mangoro1826.1PAGATIJeremiah Macelegwana Khabo3431.2Dennis Simanga Nkiwane3229.4Fani Mlingo2825.7Josiah Randa Mtemeri1513.8PIONEERJosia Bvajurayi Hove10679.7Ephraim Jiro Mhlanga2418.0Ratisayi Zhou21.5Jotham Siyapela Hove10.8TULIDaniel Namate3335.5Henry Mpumulo Kumile Ncube3133.3Herbert Habathuri Kokobele2931.2 Note: In the Lowveld electoral college, Ranches Makaya was declared elected after drawing lots, having tied with Chikati Makamure. Changes during the Assembly Party changes Allan Savory resigned from the Rhodesian Front in 1972 over the issue of land nationalisation. On 31 October 1972, he formed the Rhodesia Party together with Roy Ashburner (who had been an independent candidate in 1970), and Dr Morris Hirsch, who had been a United Federal Party MP in the 1960s. Mabelreign Patrick Palmer-Owen died on 9 June 1971. He was to undergo the first open-heart surgery of its kind at the time, but the operation was unsuccessful. A by-election was held to replace him on 5 August 1971. ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%MABELREIGN1,913 (59.5%)John Cornelius GleigRF52446.0Dr Ian George AndersonInd45640.1William Francis Mandel WeedmanCP15813.9 Salisbury Central Theo Ellison was convicted of a tax fraud and resigned from the Assembly on 15 November 1971. Nomination day for the byelection was 3 December 1971; only Hilary Gwyn Squires of the Rhodesian Front was nominated, and he was declared elected unopposed. Kunyasi Josiah Gondo died on 27 October 1972, leading to a byelection to replace him on 8 December 1972. Thomas Tavagwisa Zawaira was elected. There were five defeated candidates: Elias Mapiye Badza, Johnson Matariro Hungwe, Percy Hudson Mkudu, Samson Mundondo, and Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo. Victoria George Hartley was made Speaker of the House of Assembly on 27 March 1973, which made him a member of the House ex officio. A byelection to replace him was held on 17 May 1973. ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%VICTORIA2,048 (67.3%)Gordon Richard OldsRF98571.5Peter Southerton HingestonRP30522.1Leonard George IdensohnRNP453.3Wynn Arnold StarlingUnited Front433.1 Matojeni Wening Moraka died on 7 March 1973 and a byelection was held to replace him on 24 May 1973. ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%MATOJENI840 (35.2%)Lot Enock DewaInd ANC13344.9John ZacharyInd ANC8528.7Mishi Isaiah Bure PfumojenaCP3010.1Ratisayi ZhouInd186.1Simon Dzicaperanhamo BheneInd155.1Samson ChibiInd103.4Maurince MavuwaInd51.7 Sinoia-Umvukwes Frederick Alexander died on 26 December 1973, and the byelection to replace him was held on 28 February 1974. ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%SINOIA-UMVUKWESEsmond Meryl MicklemRF55353.8James Strathearn BrownRP24924.2Leonard George IdensohnRNP19919.4Thomas Henry Patrick BashfordCP272.6 Raylton Thomas Pinchen resigned from the Assembly on 9 January 1974. The byelection in Raylton was held on 28 February 1974. ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%RAYLTONPatrick Francis ShieldsRF78366.1Julius Michael van BeekRP37131.3James Mary KinleyCP312.6 Sources Electoral Act of 1969 (no. 56), Statute Law of Rhodesia. Peter Bridger, "Encyclopaedia Rhodesia" (College Press Pvt. Ltd, Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1973). Rhodesia Herald Sunday Mail Report of the Delimitation Commission, 1970 References Category:Parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe Rhodesia General Rhodesia Rhodesia Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results