1915 South African general election

none February 2021 South Africa 1912 Parliamentary 1910 South African general election 1910 20 October 1915 1920 South African general election 1920 All 130 seats in the House of Assembly 66 365,307 71.57% Louisbotha.jpg Louis Botha Losberg South African Party 28.45%, 66 seats 54 12 94,285 36.67% 8.22pp SirThomasSmartt.jpg 112 112 150 10 0 Thomas Smartt Fort Beaufort Unionist Party (South Africa) 37.65%, 36 seats 39 3 49,917 19.41% 18.24pp JBM Hertzog - SA (cropped).jpg J. B. M. Hertzog Smithfield National Party (South Africa) Did not exist 27 New party 75,623 29.41% New party Kolonel Cresswell (cropped).jpg 113 110 150 0 0 Frederic Creswell stood in Bezuidenhout Labour Party (South Africa) 10.93%, 3 seats 4 1 24,755 9.63% 1.30pp Prime Minister Louis Botha South African Party Louis Botha South African Party 1915 South African general election map - results by province.svg Results by province General elections were held in South Africa on 20 October 1915 to elect the 130 members of the House of Assembly. This was the second Union Parliament. The governing South African Party (SAP) of General Louis Botha emerged from the elections as the largest party, but did not receive an overall majority. Botha formed a minority government, which survived with some parliamentary support from the official opposition Unionist Party.The Times, edition of 18 October 1915; in an article on the election refers to the Ministerialist (ie South African) Party and the Unionist Party, only contesting three constituencies against each other in three cornered fights, "these two parties having laid aside their differences until the war is over". 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 second delimitation report of 1913, is set out in the table below. The figures in brackets are the number of electoral divisions in the previous (1910) delimitation. If there is no figure in brackets then the number was unchanged.South Africa 1982, p. 129 Provinces Cape Natal Orange Free State Transvaal Total Divisions 51 17 17 45 (36) 130 (121) Nominations Since the last general election, the National Party (NP) had split away from the South African Party (SAP). The formal foundation of the new party had been in 1914. Eight of the 130 seats were uncontested. There were unopposed returns for 5 Unionist Party, 2 SAP and 1 NP candidates. In the 122 contested constituencies, the candidates nominated included 86 SAP, 83 NP, 39 Unionist and 49 Labour.The Times, edition of 18 October 1915. Party attitudes General Botha stood for a policy of conciliation between Afrikaans and English speaking white people. The SAP was mostly supported by moderates of both races. General Hertzog led a republican party which supported a two streams policy – the two white races developing separately. The Unionists were anxious to maintain the imperial connection. The Unionists accordingly preferred the continuation in power of the SAP to the prospect of an NP government.The South African Constitution, p. 134. Results Results of the 1915 South African general election 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 most contested seats were not fought by a candidate from all major parties. The 27 NP candidates elected represented three of the four provinces - 7 from Cape Province, 16 from the Orange Free State and 4 from Transvaal.The Rise of the South African Reich, Chapter 1: The Birth of the National Party File:South African House of Assembly 1915.svg South African Party 94285 54 –12 National Party 75623 27 New Unionist Party 49917 39 +3 Labour Party 24755 4 +1 Socialist League 140 0 New #FF007F Independents 12383 6 –10 +9 4330 365307 Nohlen et al.Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp. 830–835 0-19-829645-2 References 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 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 & Co) Category:General elections in South Africa South Africa General South Africa