1970 Rhodesian general election explained

Country:Rhodesia
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:1965 Rhodesian general election
Previous Year:1965
Next Election:1974 Rhodesian general election
Next Year:1974
Seats For Election:All 66 seats in the House of Assembly
Majority Seats:34
Election Date:10 April 1970
Image1:Ian Smith 1950s.jpg
Leader1:Ian Smith
Party1:Rhodesian Front
Leaders Seat1:Umzingwane
Last Election1:50
Seats1:50
Popular Vote1:39,066
(European)
Percentage1:76.8%
(European)
Leader2:Pat Bashford
Party2:Centre Party
Leaders Seat2:Borrowdale (lost)
Last Election2:
Seats2:7
Seat Change2:New
Popular Vote2:5,619 (European)
2,147 (African)
Percentage2:
49.6% (African)
Prime Minister
Before Election:Ian Smith
After Election:Ian Smith
Before Party:Rhodesian Front
After Party:Rhodesian Front

General elections were held in Rhodesia on 10 April 1970.[1] [2] They were the first elections to take place under the revised, republican constitution. The country had declared itself independent in November 1965, shortly after the previous elections; the Rhodesian Front government had always disliked the 1961 constitution and made sure to change it by the time of the next one.

Background

Following the referendum on the new constitution in June 1969, the timing of the next election was laid out: it would happen once the new Electoral Act had been put in place, and once delimitation of the new constituencies was complete.

This gave opponents of the Rhodesian Front a chance to organise in time for the election. At the Rhodesian Front congress on 23 October 1969, the party chairman Ralph Nilson warned the government to avoid complacency. The Centre Party had been founded in 1968 as a non-racial party which aimed for 'Middle of the Road' political opinion; it supported "advancement of the African on merit" and gradual abolition of racial discrimination and was led by Pat Bashford; it was strongest in the urban areas. Ian Smith described it as "the real opposition".

Robin James, an independent MP who had been expelled from the Rhodesian Front for opposing Ian Smith, formed the Conservative Alliance on 26 June 1969 which campaigned for the preservation of the white presence in Rhodesia. James attacked the Rhodesian Front for 'multiracial, integrationist policies'; his party was subsequently renamed the Republican Alliance. Eligible African voters also began to form political parties, among them the National People's Union which aimed to unite Africans against white supremacy without violence.

Electoral system

Under the 1969 constitution, the electorate of Rhodesia returned 66 members of the House of Assembly of Rhodesia. The electoral system was divided into three different classes of seat:

Qualification of voters

Qualification for being a voter depended on having sufficient means or educational achievement. All voters had to be a citizen of Rhodesia, over 21 years of age, have resided in the constituency for at least three months, and have an adequate knowledge of English and be able to sign the claim form in his or her own handwriting. There were then two rolls for which the voter might qualify, which were determined by their race.

To qualify for the European voters roll, a voter had to be European, Coloured, or Asian and either:

To qualify for the African voters roll, a voter had to be African and either:

In practice very few Africans qualified, and many who met the qualification requirements refused to register to vote.

Wives were deemed to meet the means qualification through their husbands' earnings or wealth, although for African voters living under a system of polygamy, only the first wife qualified. A Minister of Religion or a member of a religious order living under a vow of poverty was automatically deemed to have met the means qualification. Tribal chiefs also qualified automatically to vote.

Voters were disqualified if they were insane, had been convicted of a serious criminal offence or an offence under electoral law, had been under detention or restriction for more than six months under security legislation, or had been expelled from Parliament. Some voters were also disqualified for receiving Government rations or maintenance in lieu of rations for more than a year.

Constituency boundaries

A delimitation commission was established by the Electoral Act of 1969, and began work in December 1969. Several of the constituencies were the same as previous constituencies, but some changes were required due to population shifts. The delimitation commission had to work with electorate figures as of 1 February, and could recommend constituencies within 20% either side of a target electorate of 1,740 (which gave a maximum of 2,088 and a minimum of 1,393).

Campaign

On 1 March, Clifford Dupont as 'Officer Administering the Government' signed a proclamation dissolving Parliament and bringing into effect the new constitution at midnight (Rhodesia therefore became a unilaterally-proclaimed Republic on 2 March). The general election was set for 10 April.

The Centre Party announced on 4 March its intention to run 12 candidates. The party declared it accepted the constitution and therefore the independence of Rhodesia. It eventually ran 16; the Republican Alliance had 14, and there were 14 Independents. These candidates generally fell into two categories.

  1. The first category comprised candidates who were usually former members of the Rhodesian Front who had fallen out with it over the new constitution or some other issue. Max Cohen (Greendale) had resigned from the Rhodesian Front immediately before the election; Mrs Ina Bursey (Sinoia-Umvukwes) asserted that she was "sticking to the 1962 principles" of the Rhodesian Front; and William Ogley (Que Que) informed voters that he was now more conservative than the RF, just as Arthur Hubbard (Milton Park) said he was now to the right of it.
  2. The second category were those fighting rural constituencies in the interests of the farmer. Thomas Edridge (Marandellas) declared he wanted to restore profit to farming. Harry Affleck (Gwebi) and Roy Ashburner (Sinoia-Umvukwes) stood explicitly as farmers' representatives.

A victory for the Rhodesian Front was regarded as inevitable. Ian Smith, helped by the presence of the Republican Alliance, portrayed his government as not being racialist, and sought to postpone the question of what to do about the farming industry until after the election. In the event, the Rhodesian Front won every seat; the most marginal was Salisbury City, which included the large Salisbury community of Indian shopkeepers, and where a mixed-race candidate was only 40 votes off winning. The Centre Party's appeal to non-racial politics played well only among African voters who gave them seven out of the eight seats, with only one going to the National People's Union.

Results

European roll seats

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
CandidatePartyVotes%
ARUNDEL
1,925 (81.5%)
Andrew SkeenRF1,19376.1
Alfred Priestley KnottenbeltCP37523.9
AVONDALE
1,993 (79.2%)
Dr Colin Eric BarlowRF1,19775.8
Dr Robert West FynnCP38224.2
BELLEVUE
1,949 (78.1%)
Wallace Evelyn StuttafordRF1,36389.5
Alfred Henry VincentRA16010.5
BELVEDERE
1,882 (79.1%)
Dennis DivarisRF1,04670.3
Edmund Thomas Thurlow NelsonCP34923.5
John Fraser Caladine WhitingRA936.2
BORROWDALE
1,857 (83.3%)
Douglas Hamilton RitchieRF96962.6
Thomas Henry Patrick BashfordCP57837.4
BRAESIDE
1,904
Herbert Douglas TannerRFUnopposed
BULAWAYO CENTRAL
1,627
Sydney Henderson MillarRFUnopposed
BULAWAYO DISTRICT
1,792 (81.7%)
Alexander MoseleyRF1,17380.1
John Stakesby-LewisCP29119.9
BULAWAYO EAST
1,699 (81.6%)
Elias BroombergRF90465.2
Arthur SarifCP48234.8
BULAWAYO NORTH
1,677 (75.6%)
John James WrathallRF1,19794.5
Austen Sales PerkinsRA705.5
BULAWAYO SOUTH
1,583 (68.3%)
Arthur McCarterRF98891.4
Ernest Leonard GarlandRA938.6
CHARTER
1,715
Rowan CronjéRFUnopposed
EASTERN
1,413
Alan James Wroughton MacleodRFUnopposed
GATOOMA
1,557
Albert Gannaway MellsRFUnopposed
GREENDALE
1,974 (79.0%)
Mark PartridgeRF1,12372.0
Max CohenInd RF43628.0
GWEBI
1,527 (83.2%)
Thomas Ian Fraser SandemanRF94174.1
Harry AffleckInd32925.9
GWELO
1,505 (70.9%)
Desmond Lardner-BurkeRF93988.0
James William RedmondRA12812.0
HARTLEY
1,710
P. K. van der BylRFUnopposed
HATFIELD
1,994 (74.3%)
Lance Bales SmithRF92762.6
Peter Chalmers ChalkerInd RF55537.4
HIGHLANDS NORTH
1,861 (81.6%)
Bernard PonterRF1,01767.0
Mrs. Sheila Maria NolanCP50233.0
HIGHLANDS SOUTH
1,854 (80.0%)
Richard Hope HallRF1,13376.3
Jeremy Ralph Bushton BroomeCP35123.7
HILLCREST
1,990
John Arthur NewingtonRFUnopposed
HILLSIDE
1,892 (79.6%)
Dennis Fawcett PhillipsRF1,12074.4
Hilary Stephen NortonCP38625.6
JAMESON
1,874 (75.8%)
John Peter Broberg NilsonRF1,20985.1
Christopher Wordsworth PhillipsRA21214.9
KAROI
1,534 (78.4%)
Daniel Jacobus BrinkRF78465.2
Bertram Cecil William HackingInd41934.8
MABELREIGN
1,898 (75.0%)
Patrick Palmer-OwenRF1,31992.7
Michael Anthony CrowRA1047.3
MARANDELLAS
1,515 (86.0%)
David Colville SmithRF94572.5
Thomas EdridgeInd35827.5
MARLBOROUGH
1,942 (73.9%)
William Michie IrvineRF1,24286.5
Peter Andrew Thomas YoungInd19413.5
MATOBO
1,650
Allan SavoryRFUnopposed
MAZOE
1,644 (75.0%)
George Rollo HaymanRF1,07587.2
Ernest Frederick KonschelInd15812.8
MIDLANDS
1,478
Roger HawkinsRFUnopposed
MILTON PARK
1,927 (69.4%)
Arthur Leonard LazellRF1,14685.7
Arthur Valentine Curwen Fortescue HubbardInd19214.3
MOUNT PLEASANT
1,844 (81.9%)
Jack HowmanRF91360.5
Nicholas John McNallyCP59739.5
MTOKO
1,670 (79.5%)
Rodney Guy Swayne SimmondsRF88066.3
Guy Kerry WebbInd44733.7
QUEEN'S PARK
1,786 (79.5%)
Ian Finlay McLeanRF1,30191.7
Alford Graham CoppardRA1188.3
QUE QUE
1,499 (80.7%)
Jacobus Johannes BurgerRF89974.3
William Ernest OgleyInd31125.7
RAYLTON
1,713 (82.2%)
Thomas Alexander PinchenRF1,11479.1
Stanley Cyril HowardCP23216.5
William Edward BaileyRA624.4
RUSAPE
1,466
Johannes Jacobus Lodewickus de KockRFUnopposed
SALISBURY CENTRAL
1,937 (66.1%)
Theodore Maurice EllisonRF1,06483.1
Robin Hugh JamesRA21716.9
SALISBURY CITY
1,956 (77.9%)
Edward Aylett Sutton-PryceRF65142.7
Gaston ThornicroftInd61140.1
Francis Hugh KeenlysideCP15710.3
Isaline Cecily Dunsterville JamesRA805.3
John Robert LentellInd241.6
SALISBURY NORTH
1,953 (75.7%)
Andre Sothern HollandRF1,00167.7
George Henry TanserCP47732.3
SELUKWE
1,431 (76.5%)
Charles Falcon Scott ClarkRF98690.0
Patricia Mary McHughRA10910.0
SHABANI
1,457
Ian Birt Harper DillonRFUnopposed
SINOIA/UMWUKWES
1,633 (77.1%)
Frederick Augustus AlexanderRF75960.3
Roy William Jack AshburnerInd43834.8
Ina Antoinette BurseyInd RF624.9
UMTALI EAST
1,567 (77.3%)
Bernard Horace MussettRF1,06187.5
William LambCP15112.5
UMTALI WEST
1,622 (74.7%)
John ChristieRF98881.6
Geoffrey Chilcott TaylorCP19315.9
Hajo SpandowRA302.5
UMZINGWANE
1,719 (79.6%)
Ian SmithRF1,25291.5
Samuel Albert GelmanCP1168.5
VICTORIA
2,038
George Holland HartleyRFUnopposed
WANKIE
1,540
Reginald Edward Dennis CowperRFUnopposed
WATERFALLS
1,847 (76.0%)
Arthur Philip SmithRF1,24788.8
Maurice Alan George DedmanRA15711.2

African roll seats

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
CandidatePartyVotes%
HARARE
1,505 (57.3%)
Edward Gabriel WatungwaCP52761.1
Gervase MuchadaNPU15317.7
Patrick John Daniel RubatikaInd11913.8
Mandishona Donson MatimbaAAPP637.3
INSUKAMINI
491 (54.6%)
Lewis Alban NdhlovuCP9736.2
Phillip Elijah ChigogoInd8230.6
Sidney Sidwell Bonke KeyiNPU7427.6
William Henry KonaUNPP155.6
KUNYASI
1,488 (48.5%)
Josiah GondoNPU35348.9
Johnson Matariro HungweCP22130.6
Cephas Asaph NapataRAP9312.9
Jepson Mutumwa MashingaidzeUNPP334.6
Lazarus DembetembeInd223.0
MABVAZUWA
1,566 (57.8%)
Lazarus MasendaCP42046.4
Oswald NyamwanzaNPU26629.4
Selby HlatshwayoRAP9110.1
Ambrose Charles MajongweInd697.6
Davidson Murambiwa JahwiInd596.5
MATOJENI
646 (42.3%)
Wening Shake MorakaCP18768.5
Billy Boarder MataweleRAP4115.0
Samson ChibiNPU238.4
Michael Malisela MojapeloUNPP228.1
MPOPOMA
539 (72.9%)
Lwazi Joel MahlanguCP17444.3
Cephas HlabanganaInd6717.0
Cleaphas Chihota ChirembaInd6015.3
Abishai Chimbadzwa MutasaInd5413.7
Zachariah Tongai ChigumiraRAP389.7
NEMAKONDE
1,453 (43.7%)
Ronald T.D. SadombaCP28144.3
Chad Magumise ChipunzaNPU13120.6
Herbert Munukwa ManoInd8713.7
Paul Harbinett Joseph ChanetsaInd8313.1
Eric GwanzuraInd457.1
Simon Chibvawure ParaffinRAP81.3
NTSHONALANGA
638 (42.3%)
Micah Mahamba BhebeCP24088.9
Austin Ruzayi MunyoroRAP3011.1

Tribal seats

All the successful tribal MPs formed the Rhodesia Electoral Union on election.

Electoral collegeCandidateVotes%
MASHONALAND
HIGHVELDTadeos Mutidzwa Chikonyara7535.9
Bartholomew Augustine Mabika6330.1
Calogreedy Chatambudza Zimbudzama3315.8
Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo3215.3
Matthew Kwenda41.9
Nelson Saite Mutambirwa21.0
LOWVELDRanches Chereni Makaya7339.2
Chikati Merkiya Makamure7339.2
Elias Mapiya Badza4021.5
MANICANaboth Absolom Gandanzara5846.4
Barnabas Jonathan Munyaradzi Mutasa3124.8
Tafirenyika Paulus Makumbe129.6
Allenby Thodlana118.8
Percy Hudson Mkudu97.2
Tiripano Francis Zhangazha43.2
Oliver Chakonda
ZAMBEZIAaron Takawira Mungate20672.8
Stephen Amos Dzuka Chirenda3713.1
Luke Mangirazi Kandengwa248.5
Jockoniah Stanley Chigumbura165.7
MATABELELAND
KARIBAEnock Gudu Sifuya2840.6
Amos Zikhundulu Nhliziyo2333.3
Sidney Mugore Mangoro1826.1
PAGATIJeremiah Macelegwana Khabo3431.2
Dennis Simanga Nkiwane3229.4
Fani Mlingo2825.7
Josiah Randa Mtemeri1513.8
PIONEERJosia Bvajurayi Hove10679.7
Ephraim Jiro Mhlanga2418.0
Ratisayi Zhou21.5
Jotham Siyapela Hove10.8
TULIDaniel Namate3335.5
Henry Mpumulo Kumile Ncube3133.3
Herbert Habathuri Kokobele2931.2

Changes during the Assembly

Party changes

Allan Savory resigned from the Rhodesian Front in 1972 over the issue of land nationalisation. On 31 October 1972, he formed the Rhodesia Party together with Roy Ashburner (who had been an independent candidate in 1970), and Dr Morris Hirsch, who had been a United Federal Party MP in the 1960s.

Mabelreign

Patrick Palmer-Owen died on 9 June 1971. He was to undergo the first open-heart surgery of its kind at the time, but the operation was unsuccessful. A by-election was held to replace him on 5 August 1971.

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
CandidatePartyVotes%
MABELREIGN
1,913 (59.5%)
John Cornelius GleigRF52446.0
Dr Ian George AndersonInd45640.1
William Francis Mandel WeedmanCP15813.9

Salisbury Central

Theo Ellison was convicted of a tax fraud and resigned from the Assembly on 15 November 1971. Nomination day for the byelection was 3 December 1971; only Hilary Gwyn Squires of the Rhodesian Front was nominated, and he was declared elected unopposed.

Kunyasi

Josiah Gondo died on 27 October 1972, leading to a byelection to replace him on 8 December 1972. Thomas Tavagwisa Zawaira was elected. There were five defeated candidates: Elias Mapiye Badza, Johnson Matariro Hungwe, Percy Hudson Mkudu, Samson Mundondo, and Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo.

Victoria

George Hartley was made Speaker of the House of Assembly on 27 March 1973, which made him a member of the House ex officio. A byelection to replace him was held on 17 May 1973.

ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%
VICTORIA
2,048 (67.3%)
Gordon Richard OldsRF98571.5
Peter Southerton HingestonRP30522.1
Leonard George IdensohnRNP453.3
Wynn Arnold StarlingUnited Front433.1

Matojeni

Wening Moraka died on 7 March 1973 and a byelection was held to replace him on 24 May 1973.

ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%
MATOJENI
840 (35.2%)
Lot Enock DewaInd ANC13344.9
John ZacharyInd ANC8528.7
Mishi Isaiah Bure PfumojenaCP3010.1
Ratisayi ZhouInd186.1
Simon Dzicaperanhamo BheneInd155.1
Samson ChibiInd103.4
Maurince MavuwaInd51.7

Sinoia-Umvukwes

Frederick Alexander died on 26 December 1973, and the byelection to replace him was held on 28 February 1974.

ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%
SINOIA-UMVUKWESEsmond Meryl MicklemRF55353.8
James Strathearn BrownRP24924.2
Leonard George IdensohnRNP19919.4
Thomas Henry Patrick BashfordCP272.6

Raylton

Thomas Pinchen resigned from the Assembly on 9 January 1974. The byelection in Raylton was held on 28 February 1974.

ConstituencyCandidatePartyVotes%
RAYLTONPatrick Francis ShieldsRF78366.1
Julius Michael van BeekRP37131.3
James Mary KinleyCP312.6

Sources

Notes and References

  1. http://africanelections.tripod.com/zw.html#1970_House_of_Assembly_Election 10 April 1970 House of Assembly Election
  2. Web site: The New York Times . Charles Mohr . Smith Party Sweeps Rhodesian Election . 11 April 1970 . 10 June 2024.