Griqualand East (Afrikaans: ), known simply as Griqualand (Afrikaans: ) prior to 1938, was a constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1948. It covered the area of the Cape east of the Mthatha River, and was largely coterminous with its namesake former colony. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Cape Provincial Council. Franchise notes When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The Cape Colony had implemented a “colour-blind” franchise known as the Cape Qualified Franchise, which included all adult literate men owning more than £75 worth of property (controversially raised from £25 in 1892), and this initially remained in effect after the colony became the Cape Province. As of 1908, 22,784 out of 152,221 electors in the Cape Colony were “Native or Coloured”. Eligibility to serve in Parliament and the Provincial Council, however, was restricted to whites from 1910 onward.
The first challenge to the Cape Qualified Franchise came with the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931, which extended the vote to women and removed property qualifications for the white population only – non-white voters remained subject to the earlier restrictions. In 1936, the Representation of Natives Act removed all black voters from the common electoral roll and introduced three “Native Representative Members”, white MPs elected by the black voters of the province and meant to represent their interests in particular. A similar provision was made for Coloured voters with the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951, and although this law was challenged by the courts, it went into effect in time for the 1958 general election, which was thus held with all-white voter rolls for the first time in South African history. The all-white franchise would continue until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.
History Griqualand East’s electorate, as with most of the Eastern Cape, was largely English-speaking and loyal to the pro-British side of South African politics. With the exception of the 1933 election, in which incumbent MP L. D. Gilson lost the seat to an independent challenger, the main pro-British party in South Africa (first the Unionists, then the SAP, and after Gilson’s return to the seat in 1934, the United Party) held Griqualand East in every election in which it was contested. When it was abolished in 1948, Griqualand East was largely replaced by the new seat of Transkeian Territories, which continued to be held by the UP throughout its existence.
Members ElectionMemberParty 1910 J. G. King Unionist 1915 1920 1921 SAP 1924 L. D. Gilson 1929 1933 C. W. Gray Independent 1934 by L. D. Gilson SAP 1934 United 1938 1943 R. M. Fawcett 1948 constituency abolished Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies.
Detailed results Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
References