Southern Rhodesian general election, 1939
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The Southern Rhodesia general election of 14 April 1939 was the fifth election since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins' United Party government were re-elected in a landslide. The election was called slightly earlier than the deadline as Huggins feared the German invasion of Czechoslovakia would lead to European War.
Franchise and electoral procedure
In 1937, a new Electoral Act was passed. The franchise was extended slightly to those who were not British subjects but who had been in active wartime service in the armed forces. Electors were also required to have lived for three months in their electoral districts. The requirement for qualifying for the vote on the basis of receiving salary or wages of £100 per annum was extended also to people with income of £100 per annum, a change which principally benefited those who had investment income but few assets. Voters were also no longer required to demonstrate proficiency in English through a dictation test. The postal vote, which had been introduced in 1928, was extended in 1937 to all voters living more than 25 miles away from the nearest polling station. Finally, those who had drawn government rations were disenfranchised.
Electoral districts
A boundary revision in 1938 enabled the elimination of the four remaining double-member electoral districts as the Colony was split into 30 single-member districts.
Summary result
Electorate: 28,894 (in contested seats, 28,032) Turnout: 76.7%
| Party | Seats in 1934 | Candidates | Elected | Unopposed | Popular vote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | |||||
| United Party | 24 | 29 | 23 | 1 | 11,161 | 50.4 |
| Rhodesia Labour Party | 5 | 26 | 7 | - | 7,353 | 33.2 |
| Reform Party | 1 | 16 | - | - | 2,773 | 12.5 |
| Independents | - | 3 | - | - | 492 | 2.2 |
| Union Party | - | 2 | - | - | 380 | 1.7 |
| Totals | 30 | 76 | 30 | 1 | 22,159 | 100% |
Results
- Ind – Independent
- Lab – Rhodesia Labour Party
- RP – Reform Party
- Union – Union Party
- UP – United Party
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVONDALE 962 (82.9%) |
†Harry Bertin | UP | 571 |
| Colin Ross McLachlan | Lab | 217 | |
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL 1,116 (82.1%) |
William Hives Eastwood | UP | 393 |
| †James Cowden | RP | 272 | |
| Philip Harvey Veale | Lab | 251 | |
| BULAWAYO EAST 1,025 (84.5%) |
†John Banks Brady | UP | 639 |
| Donald MacGillivray | RP | 227 | |
| BULAWAYO NORTH 1,023 (84.9%) |
Thomas Hugh William Beadle | UP | 461 |
| Charles Edward Harrison | RP | 243 | |
| William John Phelps | Lab | 165 | |
| BULAWAYO SOUTH 1,279 (77.8%) |
†Donald Macintyre | Lab | 534 |
| Robert Woodward Hammond | UP | 461 | |
| CHARTER 838 (82.3%) |
†Ernest Lucas Guest | UP | 355 |
| Johan Christoffel Kruger | Union | 181 | |
| Henry Stephen Sharp | Lab | 154 | |
| EASTERN 1,004 (77.7%) |
†Jacobus Petrus De Kock | UP | 399 |
| Douglas Abrahamson | Union | 199 | |
| Reginald Herbert Bruce Dickson | Lab | 182 | |
| GATOOMA 1,031 (85.5%) |
Thomas Alfred Kimble | Lab | 416 |
| James Dalton | UP | 293 | |
| Thomas James Golding | RP | 173 | |
| GWANDA 839 (71.2%) |
†Frank Ernest Harris | UP | 381 |
| David Wood Young | RP | 216 | |
| GWELO 954 (78.9%) |
†Frank Delano Thompson | UP | 326 |
| Robert Williamson | RP | 243 | |
| William John Bassett | Lab | 184 | |
| HARTLEY 969 (82.1%) |
Hugh Volant Wheeler | UP | 264 |
| William Muter Leggate | RP | 215 | |
| † Henry Hamilton Beamish | Ind | 196 | |
| John Allen | Lab | 121 | |
| HIGHLANDS 953 (82.1%) |
Leslie Benjamin Fereday | UP | 447 |
| William Frith Wilson | Lab | 267 | |
| John Arthur Douglas Hawksley | RP | 68 | |
| HILLSIDE 1,017 (85.8%) |
†Harry Herbert Davies | Lab | 544 |
| George Victor Wallace | UP | 329 | |
| INSIZA 887 (73.2%) |
†Robert Clarkson Tredgold | UP | 335 |
| James Turner Durward | Lab | 198 | |
| Leo George Robinson | RP | 116 | |
| LOMAGUNDI 834 (64.1%) |
†Lewis Aloys MacDonald Hastings | UP | 393 |
| Mrs. Otilia Liebermann | Lab | 142 | |
| MARANDELLAS 891 (74.2%) |
William Henry Ralston | UP | 366 |
| Alexander Aitken Draper | Lab | 148 | |
| †Alfred William Vincent Crawley | RP | 147 | |
| MAZOE 873 (78.9%) |
†Edward Walter Lionel Noaks | UP | 402 |
| Jack Herbert Keightley | Lab | 139 | |
| James Murdoch Eaton | RP | 75 | |
| Mark Douglas Claxton | Ind | 73 | |
| QUE QUE 1,072 (79.9%) |
†Charles Walter Leppington | UP | 434 |
| de Lacey Henry Stowe | Lab | 422 | |
| RAYLTON 954 (80.6%) |
†Lawrence John Walter Keller | Lab | 559 |
| Charles Spencer | UP | 210 | |
| SALISBURY CENTRAL 1,089 (76.4%) |
Edgar Pope Vernall | UP | 408 |
| Mrs. Gladys Maasdorp | Lab | 288 | |
| George Harry Stone | RP | 136 | |
| SALISBURY CITY 1,012 (78.6%) |
†Jacob Hendrik Smit | UP | 519 |
| Alec Pelham | Lab | 276 | |
| SALISBURY GARDENS 966 (76.4%) |
†Sir Percival Donald Leslie Fynn | UP | 410 |
| Lancelot Middleton Foggin | RP | 155 | |
| Rex Atherton Rawstorne | Lab | 111 | |
| SALISBURY NORTH 862 |
†Godfrey Martin Huggins | UP | unopposed |
| SALISBURY SOUTH 1,049 (79.0%) |
†George Henry Walker | Lab | 546 |
| Heiman Joseph Hoffman | UP | 283 | |
| SELUKWE 954 (76.6%) |
†Max Danziger | UP | 410 |
| Ernest Millington | RP | 321 | |
| UMTALI NORTH 844 (83.8%) |
Edgar Cuthbert Fremantle Whitehead | UP | 498 |
| Thomas Norris | Lab | 209 | |
| UMTALI SOUTH 820 (76.1%) |
James Brown Lister | Lab | 401 |
| Matthew Henry Gibson | Ind | 223 | |
| VICTORIA 1,014 (77.2%) |
†William Alexander Eustace Winterton | UP | 497 |
| Robert Joseph Austin | Lab | 286 | |
| WANKIE 1,000 (73.0%) |
Allan Watson Whittington | Lab | 346 |
| Cyril Mainwaring Newman | UP | 311 | |
| Henry Robert Barbour | RP | 73 | |
| WESTERN 894 (79.0%) |
Patrick Bissett Fletcher | UP | 366 |
| Albert James Davies | Lab | 247 | |
| Wilfred Denton Estment | RP | 93 |
Byelections
Salisbury Gardens
Sir Percival Fynn died on 25 April 1940. Owing to the war, normal party politics had been suspended and a joint selection conference including members of both the United Party and the Rhodesia Labour Party was included. Four candidates stood for the selection: Cecil Douglas Dryden (United Party), Mrs. Gladys Maasdorp (Rhodesia Labour Party), Arthur William Redfern (Independent) and O.P. Wheeler (Independent). Redfern was selected and returned unopposed on 26 June 1940.
Umtali North
Edgar Whitehead resigned from the Assembly on 24 June 1940. A byelection was held to replace him on 27 August 1940.
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UMTALI NORTH 821 (53.8%) |
Tom Ian Finlay Wilson | UP | 312 |
| Thomas Norris | Lab | 130 |
Hartley
Hugh Volant Wheeler resigned on 30 June 1940. A byelection was held in his constituency on 27 August 1940.
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HARTLEY 943 (49.9%) |
William Muter Leggate | RP | 247 |
| Tom Cecil Leonard Howard | Ind | 120 | |
| Leonard Tolcher Tracey | Ind | 104 |
Lomagundi
Lewis Aloys MacDonald Hastings resigned on 30 June 1940. A byelection was held in his constituency on 27 August 1940.
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOMAGUNDI 827 (48.1%) |
George Henry Hackwill | UP | 220 |
| Edward George Holman | Ind | 178 |
Victoria
William Alexander Eustace Winterton resigned on 30 October 1940. A byelection was held on 10 December 1940.
| Constituency Electorate and turnout |
Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| VICTORIA 1,014 (61.4%) |
Walter Brumage Richards | UP | 232 |
| Harry Joseph Filmer | Lab | 228 | |
| Richard Fraser Dott | Ind National | 163 |
Insiza
Robert Clarkson Tredgold resigned on 28 February 1943. A byelection was held on 21 April 1943 to replace him.
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| INSIZA | Leslie Thomas Smith | The Labour Party | 280 |
| Victor Henry Sauerman | Lab | 197 | |
| John Everett Chick | UP | 151 |
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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