1915 South African general election

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.

1915 South African general election

← 1910 20 October 1915 1920 →
All 130 seats in the House of Assembly 66 seats needed for a majority
Registered	365,307
Turnout	71.57%
First party Second party   Leader Louis Botha Thomas Smartt Party South African Unionist Last election 28.45%, 66 seats 37.65%, 36 seats Seats won 54 39 Seat change 12 3 Popular vote 94,285 49,917 Percentage 36.67% 19.41% Swing 8.22pp 18.24pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader J. B. M. Hertzog Frederic Creswell Party National Labour Last election Did not exist 10.93%, 3 seats Seats won 27 4 Seat change New party 1 Popular vote 75,623 24,755 Percentage 29.41% 9.63% Swing New party 1.30pp
Results by province
Prime Minister before election Louis Botha South African Elected Prime Minister Louis Botha South African

Botha formed a minority government, which survived with some parliamentary support from the official opposition Unionist Party.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Results

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.^[5]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	South African Party	94,285	36.67	54	–12
	National Party	75,623	29.41	27	New
	Unionist Party	49,917	19.42	39	+3
	Labour Party	24,755	9.63	4	+1
	Socialist League	140	0.05	0	New
	Independents	12,383	4.82	6	–10
Total		257,103	100.00	130	+9
Valid votes		257,103	98.34
Invalid/blank votes		4,330	1.66
Total votes		261,433	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		365,307	71.57
Source: Nohlen et al.[6]

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)

1. 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".
2. South Africa 1982, p. 129
3. The Times, edition of 18 October 1915.
4. The South African Constitution, p. 134.
5. The Rise of the South African Reich, Chapter 1: The Birth of the National Party
6. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, pp. 830–835 ISBN 0-19-829645-2