The Empire Parnell Built
- Thread starter Rattigan
- Start date
The 1948 South African general election was held on 26 May 1948 and saw the United Party (UP), led by Jan Smuts, win another term in office at the head of a narrow majority in the House of Assembly.
During the election campaign, the UP formed an electoral pact with the left-leaning Labour Party. The main opposition party was the Reunited National Party (HNP) led by D.F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric. The HNP campaigned on a promise to implement a policy of strict racial segregation. However, their wartime record (many had collaborated with the German colonial government in South-West Africa) and the strident anti-Anglo sentiment coming from many senior party figures alienated many people. The UP, by contrast, campaigned on a promise of incremental reform to the franchise, attracting liberal votes without alienating some conservative whites. A wartime redistricting, giving more weight to urban districts, also served to boost the UP.
Despite Smuts' equivocal and limited support for an expansion of the franchise, his final government attempted to implement the recommendations of the Fagan Commission. The government would introduce the New Franchise Bill, which extended the vote to 'elite' Black, Asian and Coloured populations. Smuts would die at his desk in September 1950, midway through the Bill's passage through the Assembly, and be replaced by Jan Hofmeyer, from the UP's liberal wing.
During the election campaign, the UP formed an electoral pact with the left-leaning Labour Party. The main opposition party was the Reunited National Party (HNP) led by D.F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric. The HNP campaigned on a promise to implement a policy of strict racial segregation. However, their wartime record (many had collaborated with the German colonial government in South-West Africa) and the strident anti-Anglo sentiment coming from many senior party figures alienated many people. The UP, by contrast, campaigned on a promise of incremental reform to the franchise, attracting liberal votes without alienating some conservative whites. A wartime redistricting, giving more weight to urban districts, also served to boost the UP.
Despite Smuts' equivocal and limited support for an expansion of the franchise, his final government attempted to implement the recommendations of the Fagan Commission. The government would introduce the New Franchise Bill, which extended the vote to 'elite' Black, Asian and Coloured populations. Smuts would die at his desk in September 1950, midway through the Bill's passage through the Assembly, and be replaced by Jan Hofmeyer, from the UP's liberal wing.