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1948 South African general election
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1948 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a major turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D. F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric.
Due to a racially segregated election system and restrictive franchise requirements, the electorate consisted almost exclusively of white people (who were roughly 20% of the population). Very few Colored people and of Asian descent were allowed to vote in this election. Indigenous Africans had been banned altogether since the late 1930s, with the limited number of Indigenous Africans meeting electoral qualifications voting for seven "own" white MPs separately. During the election campaign, both the UP and the HNP formed coalitions with smaller parties. The UP was aligned with the left-leaning Labour Party, while the Afrikaner Party sought to advance Afrikaner rights by allying with the HNP.
The HNP capitalised on the fears of many White South Africans who felt threatened by black political aspirations, pledging to enforce strict racial segregation in all areas of life. The party called this system "apartheid" (meaning "apartness" or "separation") and promised safety and security from supposed black-on-white crime. In contrast, the United Party offered only vague ideas of gradual racial integration. Widespread white dissatisfaction with post-war domestic and economic conditions, the HNP's stronger organisation, and electoral malapportionment that favoured rural areas where the HNP enjoyed greater support, all contributed to the UP's electoral difficulties.
The elections marked the start of 46 years of National Party (NP) rule in South Africa, leading to the formal introduction of apartheid and the gradual development of a herrenvolk democracy that persisted until the 1994 election.
Together, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party won 79 seats in the House of Assembly against a combined total of 71 won by the UP and the Labour Party. As a result of the first-past-the-post system, the HNP won more seats, even though the UP received over eleven per cent more votes. The nationalist coalition subsequently formed a new government and ushered in the era of formal, legally binding apartheid. In 1951, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party merged, returning to the name National Party (NP).
The most important reason for the National Party's (NP) election success was, arguably, its strength with rural voters in 1948. Despite not receiving the majority vote and Smuts gaining 12% more votes, Malan benefited heavily from malapportionment. This allowed Malan to form a government by winning many small constituencies and gaining 5 more seats than the United Party in a narrow victory for the National Party.
Race, though, was one of the central policy issues facing the white electorate. The United Party (UP) and the NP presented voters with differing responses to racial integration in South Africa. Smuts and his followers favoured a pragmatic approach, arguing that racial integration was inevitable and that the government should thus relax regulations which sought to prevent black people from moving into urban areas. Whilst still advocating white dominance, the UP argued in favour of gradually reforming the political system so that black South Africans could, at some unspecified point in the future, exercise some sort of power in a racially integrated South Africa. In contrast to this nebulous position, the HNP advocated a strictly enforced racial segregation and the total disempowerment of black South Africans. There was a growing fear amongst Nationalist Afrikaners of black people taking their jobs, especially post-World War II. Rural to urban movement by blacks was to be discouraged. The UP position was supported by the Fagan Commission while the Sauer Commission informed the HNP's stance.
Another reason for D.F. Malan's success was the National Party's constant portrayal of Jan Smuts as similar to the British, a poisonous likening for many in the electorate. Leading the UP, Smuts proposed more liberal policies, more out of necessity than morality, to be elected. However, the NP likened him to the 'enemy' (Britain), a potent smear for Afrikaner voters who nursed a hatred of the British after the Second Boer War (a war then within the living memory of a third of white South Africans). Smuts's work for Britain and his decision to help Britain in World War II gave substance to the accusation.
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1948 South African general election
General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a major turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D. F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric.
Due to a racially segregated election system and restrictive franchise requirements, the electorate consisted almost exclusively of white people (who were roughly 20% of the population). Very few Colored people and of Asian descent were allowed to vote in this election. Indigenous Africans had been banned altogether since the late 1930s, with the limited number of Indigenous Africans meeting electoral qualifications voting for seven "own" white MPs separately. During the election campaign, both the UP and the HNP formed coalitions with smaller parties. The UP was aligned with the left-leaning Labour Party, while the Afrikaner Party sought to advance Afrikaner rights by allying with the HNP.
The HNP capitalised on the fears of many White South Africans who felt threatened by black political aspirations, pledging to enforce strict racial segregation in all areas of life. The party called this system "apartheid" (meaning "apartness" or "separation") and promised safety and security from supposed black-on-white crime. In contrast, the United Party offered only vague ideas of gradual racial integration. Widespread white dissatisfaction with post-war domestic and economic conditions, the HNP's stronger organisation, and electoral malapportionment that favoured rural areas where the HNP enjoyed greater support, all contributed to the UP's electoral difficulties.
The elections marked the start of 46 years of National Party (NP) rule in South Africa, leading to the formal introduction of apartheid and the gradual development of a herrenvolk democracy that persisted until the 1994 election.
Together, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party won 79 seats in the House of Assembly against a combined total of 71 won by the UP and the Labour Party. As a result of the first-past-the-post system, the HNP won more seats, even though the UP received over eleven per cent more votes. The nationalist coalition subsequently formed a new government and ushered in the era of formal, legally binding apartheid. In 1951, the HNP and the Afrikaner Party merged, returning to the name National Party (NP).
The most important reason for the National Party's (NP) election success was, arguably, its strength with rural voters in 1948. Despite not receiving the majority vote and Smuts gaining 12% more votes, Malan benefited heavily from malapportionment. This allowed Malan to form a government by winning many small constituencies and gaining 5 more seats than the United Party in a narrow victory for the National Party.
Race, though, was one of the central policy issues facing the white electorate. The United Party (UP) and the NP presented voters with differing responses to racial integration in South Africa. Smuts and his followers favoured a pragmatic approach, arguing that racial integration was inevitable and that the government should thus relax regulations which sought to prevent black people from moving into urban areas. Whilst still advocating white dominance, the UP argued in favour of gradually reforming the political system so that black South Africans could, at some unspecified point in the future, exercise some sort of power in a racially integrated South Africa. In contrast to this nebulous position, the HNP advocated a strictly enforced racial segregation and the total disempowerment of black South Africans. There was a growing fear amongst Nationalist Afrikaners of black people taking their jobs, especially post-World War II. Rural to urban movement by blacks was to be discouraged. The UP position was supported by the Fagan Commission while the Sauer Commission informed the HNP's stance.
Another reason for D.F. Malan's success was the National Party's constant portrayal of Jan Smuts as similar to the British, a poisonous likening for many in the electorate. Leading the UP, Smuts proposed more liberal policies, more out of necessity than morality, to be elected. However, the NP likened him to the 'enemy' (Britain), a potent smear for Afrikaner voters who nursed a hatred of the British after the Second Boer War (a war then within the living memory of a third of white South Africans). Smuts's work for Britain and his decision to help Britain in World War II gave substance to the accusation.
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