Bechuanaland (Afrikaans: Betsjoeanaland) was a constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1938. It covered a rural area along the border with Botswana, centred on the town of Vryburg, and shared both its name and much of its territory with the former Crown colony of British Bechuanaland. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Cape Provincial Council.
Franchise notes
When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The Cape Colony had implemented a “colour-blind” franchise known as the Cape Qualified Franchise, which included all adult literate men owning more than £75 worth of property (controversially raised from £25 in 1892), and this initially remained in effect after the colony became the Cape Province. As of 1908, 22,784 out of 152,221 electors in the Cape Colony were “Native or Coloured”. Eligibility to serve in Parliament and the Provincial Council, however, was restricted to whites from 1910 onward.
The first challenge to the Cape Qualified Franchise came with the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931, which extended the vote to women and removed property qualifications for the white population only – non-white voters remained subject to the earlier restrictions. In 1936, the Representation of Natives Act removed all black voters from the common electoral roll and introduced three “Native Representative Members”, white MPs elected by the black voters of the province and meant to represent their interests in particular. A similar provision was made for Coloured voters with the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951, and although this law was challenged by the courts, it went into effect in time for the 1958 general election, which was thus held with all-white voter rolls for the first time in South African history. The all-white franchise would continue until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.[1]
History
Like many rural constituencies across the Cape, Bechuanaland was a conservative seat with a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate. After voting for the South African Party in 1910 and 1915, it was taken by the National Party in 1921, and the NP held it throughout the remainder of its existence. In 1938 it was replaced by the new seat of Vryburg, and its final MP, P. J. du Plessis, stood for and won the Vryburg constituency for the new United Party.[2]
Members
[2]
Detailed results
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
References