1934 Southern Rhodesian general election

General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 7 November 1934, fourth elections since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. The elections were called only a year after the previous elections when the Prime Minister, Godfrey Huggins, formed the United Party as a merger of the conservative section of his Reform Party and the former governing Rhodesia Party. Huggins succeeded in winning a landslide, defeating all but one of his Reform Party opponents.

1934 Southern Rhodesian general election

← 1933 7 November 1934 (1934-11-07) 1939 →
All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	64.6%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Godfrey Huggins Harry Davies Party United Labour Reform Leader's seat Salisbury district Bulawayo South Last election – 5 seats 16 seats Seats won 24 5 1 Seat change New 15 Popular vote 14,813 6,092 2,237 Percentage 64.01% 26.32% 9.67%
Prime Minister before election Godfrey Huggins United Party Elected Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins United Party

Electoral system

No changes were made to the franchise, the procedure of elections, or electoral boundaries since the previous election.

Political parties

The Reform Party was believed by many in Rhodesia to be a left-wing party but Huggins had presented a cautiously conservative Cabinet after winning power in 1933. In particular, Finance Minister Jacob Smit was a strong believer in conventional economics and opponent of Keynesianism. The course of government led eventually to a confrontration in August 1934 with the left-wing of the party over reform to the Rhodesian railways. Huggins decided to approach Sir Percy Fynn, leader of the Rhodesian Party, who pledged support for a National Government under Huggins.

However, the Acting Governor refused a dissolution on the grounds that the Assembly had many years left, and the government had not been defeated. Huggins persuaded the majority of the Executive of the Reform Party to suspend the party's constitution to allow a National Government on 17 September, and then formed the United Party with Fynn, asking a second time for a dissolution on the basis of a changed party alignment. This time the Acting Governor acceded.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	United Party	14,813	64.01	24	New
	Rhodesia Labour Party	6,092	26.32	5	0
	Reform Party	2,237	9.67	1	–15
Total		23,142	100.00	30	0
Registered voters/turnout		25,879	–
Source: Willson

By constituency

• Lab – Rhodesia Labour Party
• Ref – Reform Party
• UP – United Party

Constituency Electorate and turnout	Candidate	Party	Votes
BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,018 (61.4%)	†James Cowden	UP	683
	†Donald MacIntyre	Lab	654
	Arthur James Butler	UP	604
	Edward Jonathan Davies	Lab	536
BULAWAYO NORTH Two members 1,989 (65.1%)	†John Banks Brady	UP	967
	†Allan Ross Welsh	UP	910
	David Bennie	Lab	421
	Frederick Martin	Lab	291
BULAWAYO SOUTH 1,257 (70.6%)	†Harry Herbert Davies	Lab	458
	Hugh Beadle	UP	430
CHARTER 623	†Ernest Lucas Guest	UP	unopposed
EASTERN 886	†John Louis Martin	UP	unopposed
GATOOMA 842 (77.3%)	†William Sydney Senior	UP	366
	Thomas Alfred Kimble	Lab	285
GWANDA 677 (70.2%)	†Sir Hugh Grenville Williams	Ref	257
	Herbert Hildeyard Phillips	UP	218
GWELO 1,048 (63.2%)	†Frank Delano Thompson	UP	377
	Albert Hill	Lab	285
HARTLEY 571 (79.5%)	James Joseph Conway	UP	256
	Arthur Bertram Shepherd-Cross	Ref	117
	Christopher Holderness	Lab	81
INSIZA 644 (69.9%)	Robert Clarkson Tredgold	UP	273
	Leo George Robinson	Lab	110
	Joseph Hussey	Ref	67
INYATI 756 (67.7%)	Frank Ernest Harris	UP	334
	John Bazeley	Lab	178
LOMAGUNDI 818 (68.7%)	†Lewis Aloys MacDonald Hastings	UP	365
	Frank Smith	Ref	197
MARANDELLAS 812 (58.6%)	Alfred William Vincent Crawley	UP	251
	†Reginald Herbert Bruce Dickson	Ref	225
MATOPO 966 (66.9%)	†Robert Alexander Fletcher	UP	412
	Jonah William White	Lab	234
MAZOE 891 (64.8%)	†Edward Walter Lionel Noaks	UP	467
	Alexander Macintyre Hutchinson	Ref	110
QUE QUE 793 (71.6%)	†Charles Walter Leppington	UP	290
	Edward Empson Webb	Lab	243
	John William Watkinson	Ref	35
RAYLTON 1,243 (70.7%)	†Lawrence John Walter Keller	Lab	440
	William Hives Eastwood	UP	439
SALISBURY CENTRAL Two members 2,257 (66.6%)	†Jacob Hendrik Smit	UP	1,125
	Robert Thomson Anderson	UP	848
	James Kerr Taylor	Lab	335
	Roger Edward Downes	Lab	315
	Charles Olley	Ref	245
	†Neil Housman Wilson	Ref	204
SALISBURY DISTRICT 966 (76.4%)	†Godfrey Huggins	UP	519
	† Thomas Nangle	Ref	219
SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,016 (69.7%)	Vernon Arthur Lewis	UP	1,208
	†Percival Donald Leslie Fynn	UP	1,198
	William Lane Mitchell	Ref	233
	William Martin	Lab	172
SALISBURY SOUTH 1,240 (71.5%)	†George Henry Walker	Lab	435
	Alexander Daniel Kirstein	UP	350
	Mrs. Otilia Liebermann	Ref	101
SELUKWE 818 (68.7%)	†Robert Dunipace Gilchrist	UP	416
	Ernest Edward Fitzroy Blackwell	Ref	146
UMTALI NORTH 864 (66.9%)	†Donald Murray Somerville	UP	429
	Albert Holman	Lab	149
UMTALI SOUTH 761 (75.7%)	†Jonathan Hunter Malcolm	Lab	329
	Edgar Cuthbert Fremantle Whitehead	UP	247
VICTORIA 943 (76.6%)	†William Alexander Eustace Winterton	UP	641
	John Davidson	Ref	81
WANKIE 689 (57.9%)	†Alexander Robert Thomson	UP	258
	William McDonald	Lab	141

Byelections

Hartley

James Joseph Conway died on 10 May 1935, leading to a byelection on 4 July 1935.

Constituency	Candidate	Party	Votes
HARTLEY	Roger Edward Downes	Ref	202
	Charles Malcolm Davenport	UP	146
	Thomas Alfred Kimble	Lab	79

Selukwe

Robert Dunipace Gilchrist resigned on 30 June 1935, leading to a byelection on 28 August 1935.

Constituency	Candidate	Party	Votes
SELUKWE	Max Danziger	UP	353
	Henry Frederick Edensor	Ref	182
	Ernest Millington	Ind UP	117

Umtali South

Following his death, there was a byelection to replace Jonathan Hunter Malcolm on 15 September 1936.

Constituency Electorate and turnout	Candidate	Party	Votes
UMTALI SOUTH 800 (62.0%)	James Brown Lister	Lab	244
	Edgar Cuthbert Fremantle Whitehead	UP	153
	William Arthur Rail	Ref	99

Salisbury North

Following his resignation on 31 July 1936, there was a byelection to replace Vernon Arthur Lewis on 21 September 1936.

Constituency Electorate and turnout	Candidate	Party	Votes
SALISBURY NORTH 2,035 (54.9%)	Harry Bertin	UP	595
	John Richard Dendy Young	Ref	522

Eastern

John Louis Martin died on 28 May 1938 and a byelection to replace him was held on 15 August 1938.

Constituency Electorate and turnout	Candidate	Party	Votes
EASTERN 751 (81.4%)	Jacobus Petrus De Kock	UP	222
	Douglas Abrahamson	UNP	160
	Reginald Herbert Bruce Dickson	Ref	150
	Roelof Hendrik Venter	Lab	79

Hartley

Following his death, there was a byelection to replace Roger Edward Downes on 30 August 1938.

Constituency Electorate and turnout	Candidate	Party	Votes
HARTLEY 584 (76.7%)	Henry Hamilton Beamish	Ind	144
	Thomas James Golding	RP	125
	Leslie Manfred Noel Hodson	UP	118
	Thomas George Gibson	Ref	61

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)