Southern Rhodesian general election, 1928
The Southern Rhodesia general election of 19 September 1928 was the second election to the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia. The Rhodesia Party, who had won an overwhelming victory at the previous election, were re-elected with a slightly smaller majority.
Franchise
At this election the franchise was codified for the first time by the Electoral Act, 1928. The basis for the Act was a consolidation of the previous regulations created by Order in Council, but the opportunity was taken by the Legislative Assembly to change some of the regulations which they had come to dislike. The principle change in the franchise was to restrict registration to British subjects only, whether by birth or naturalisation; previously, resident aliens could take an oath of allegiance to qualify themselves.
A change was also made to the literacy requirements for voters, where the test of writing fifty words of English at the dictation of the registering officer was dropped and the would-be voter merely had to be able to fill in the form in their own handwriting. The financial means qualification was the subject of a minor wording change, whereby the word "income" was added as an alternative to salary or wages.
Electoral procedure
The Electoral Act, 1928 added a procedure whereby electors could vote by post, but otherwise retained the same system as used previously.
Electoral districts
Having previously elected the Legislative Assembly by means of 15 electoral districts each returning two members, in 1927 a Delimitation Board was established to recommend new districts. The Board intended to recommend 30 single-member districts, but found this to be impractical given the strong population growth around Salisbury and Bulawayo and therefore recommended 22 single-member districts and four two-member districts. The retention of two-member districts was controversial. The Board found its work hampered by the inaccuracy of the electoral roll, and as a result registration procedure was tightened up in the Electoral Act, 1928.
Political parties
The development of political parties had advanced since the colony was granted self-government. The Progressive Party, an opposition group opposed to monopolies and advocating more development of Matabeleland, had been formed in June 1927 from a group of independent members, and was able to nominate 22 candidates for the 30 seats. The Rhodesia Labour Party had increased its strength in the towns.
Also in 1927 the Country Party had been formed by dissident farmers in the Rhodesian Agricultural Union.
Summary result
Electorate: 26,629 (25,832 in contested seats) Turnout: 60.5%
| Party | Seats in 1924 | Candidates | Elected | Unopposed | Popular vote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | |||||
| Rhodesia Party | 26 | 30 | 22 | 1 | 8,396 | 52.4 |
| Progressive Party | - | 22 | 4 | - | 4,523 | 28.2 |
| Rhodesia Labour Party | - | 8 | 3 | - | 1,921 | 12.0 |
| Country Party | - | 4 | - | - | 662 | 4.1 |
| Independents | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | 514 | 3.2 |
| Totals | 30 | 66 | 30 | 1 | 16,016 | 100% |
Results
- CP – Centre Party
- Lab – Rhodesia Labour Party
- PP – Progressive Party
- RP – Rhodesia Party
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,138 (48.0%) |
†James Cowden | RP | 626 |
| Donald MacGillivray | RP | 615 | |
| †Francis Leslie Hadfield | PP | 442 | |
| Gilbert Samuel Hough | PP | 368 | |
| BULAWAYO NORTH Two members 1,915 (47.5%) |
†Robert James Hudson | RP | 774 |
| †Allan Ross Welsh | RP | 711 | |
| Ernest Richard Davies | PP | 334 | |
| BULAWAYO SOUTH 1,110 (62.3%) |
Harry Herbert Davies | Lab | 440 |
| George Johnson | RP | 252 | |
| CHARTER 791 (62.5%) |
Ernest Lucas Guest | RP | 283 |
| †Charles Edward Gilfillan | PP | 211 | |
| EASTERN 842 (67.1%) |
†John Louis Martin | Ind | 344 |
| †Mrs. Ethel Tawse Jollie | RP | 221 | |
| GATOOMA 900 (68.8%) |
George Munro | RP | 440 |
| Sir Ernest William Sanders Montagu | PP | 260 | |
| William Martin | Lab | 93 | |
| GWANDA 671 (70.0%) |
†George Mitchell | RP | 173 |
| Herbert Stephen Henderson | Ind RP | 170 | |
| Daniel Judson | PP | 127 | |
| GWELO 902 (68.2%) |
†Max Danziger | RP | 412 |
| John William Watkinson | PP | 203 | |
| HARTLEY 744 (58.7%) |
Roger Edward Downes | PP | 250 |
| †Osmond Charteris Du Port | RP | 187 | |
| INSIZA 736 (64.3%) |
Stephen Martin Lanigan O'Keeffe | PP | 255 |
| Joseph Ritchie Stewart | RP | 218 | |
| INYATI 717 (59.8%) |
Charles Spearman Jobling | RP | 252 |
| †Frederic Phillip Mennell | PP | 177 | |
| LOMAGUNDI 881 (55.3%) |
†James Murdoch Eaton | RP | 272 |
| Thomas William Williamson | CP | 215 | |
| MARANDELLAS 793 (63.8%) |
Luke Lot Green | RP | 266 |
| Eric Arthur Nobbs | PP | 167 | |
| John Mitchell Moubray | CP | 73 | |
| MATOPO 749 (71.6%) |
†Robert Alexander Fletcher | RP | 385 |
| Edmund Gilchrist Wrightson | PP | 151 | |
| MAZOE 775 (68.3%) |
†John Wallace Downie | RP | 345 |
| Milton Evan Cleveland | CP | 184 | |
| QUE QUE 844 (70.6%) |
†Arthur James Taylor | RP | 327 |
| Alexander Louis Wynand Koch Worsthorne | PP | 269 | |
| RAYLTON 906 (64.6%) |
Lawrence John Walter Keller | Lab | 306 |
| †Henry Robert Barbour | RP | 279 | |
| SALISBURY DISTRICT 968 (61.2%) |
†William Muter Leggate | RP | 268 |
| John Arnold Edmonds | CP | 190 | |
| Edward Cuthbert Nangle | PP | 134 | |
| SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,205 (64.0%) |
†Godfrey Martin Huggins | RP | 821 |
| †Percival Donald Leslie Fynn | RP | 771 | |
| †Frank William Frederick Johnson | PP | 627 | |
| Vernon Arthur Lewis | PP | 601 | |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) |
†Harry Bertin | PP | 639 |
| Gordon Ross Milne | RP | 629 | |
| Henry Fulton | RP | 616 | |
| John William Dunlop | Lab | 600 | |
| Frederick Eyles | Lab | 505 | |
| Walter Hill | PP | 473 | |
| SELUKWE 806 (67.6%) |
†Robert Dunipace Gilchrist | PP | 300 |
| James Baillie Macdonald | RP | 245 | |
| SHAMVA 473 (76.5%) |
Mark Douglas Claxton | RP | 259 |
| Trevor Fletcher | PP | 103 | |
| UMTALI NORTH 707 (76.0%) |
†Charles Eickhoff | RP | 292 |
| Alexander Tulloch | PP | 137 | |
| William Harrison | Lab | 108 | |
| UMTALI SOUTH 741 (71.9%) |
Jonathan Hunter Malcolm | Lab | 253 |
| Oswald Trevor Baker | RP | 150 | |
| Robert Chaloner Critchley Long | PP | 130 | |
| VICTORIA 797 |
†Howard Unwin Moffat | RP | unopposed |
| WANKIE 775 (55.6%) |
†Alexander Robert Thomson | RP | 262 |
| George Francis Scougal | Lab | 169 |
Changes during the Assembly
Mazoe
John Wallace Downie gave up his seat on 28 October 1930 on his appointment as High Commissioner of Southern Rhodesia in London, precipitating a byelection in his electoral district which was held on 5 December 1930.
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAZOE | Edward Walter Lionel Noaks | Ind | 361 |
| Frank Smith | Reform Party | 98 | |
| Cyril Allen | RP | 63 |
Salisbury South
Due to the resignation of Gordon Ross Milne who was in ill health, a byelection in this electoral district was held on 13 March 1931.
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SALISBURY SOUTH | Jacob Hendrik Smit | Reform Party | 564 |
| Alexander Louis Wynand Koch Worsthorne | Lab | 526 | |
| Guy Harcourt Peall | RP | 310 | |
| Henry Fulton | PP | 168 |
Gwelo
Max Danziger left the Rhodesia Party on 4 June 1931 and simultaneously decided to vacate his seat to test the opinion of his electors. The result of the election was:
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GWELO | Max Danziger | Ind | unopposed |
Party changes
In October 1929 the Progressive Party merged with the Country Party to form the Reform Party.
References
- Source Book of Parliamentary Elections and Referenda in Southern Rhodesia 1898–1962 ed. by F.M.G. Willson (Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury 1963)
- Holders of Administrative and Ministerial Office 1894–1964 by F.M.G. Willson and G.C. Passmore, assisted by Margaret T. Mitchell (Source Book No. 3, Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury 1966)
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