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1904 Cape Colony parliamentary election

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1904 Cape Colony parliamentary election

← 1898 January & February 1904 1908 →

All 95 seats in the Assembly
48 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Leander Starr Jameson James Tennant Molteno
Party Progressive South African Party
Leader's seat Grahamstown Somerset East
Seats won 50 42
Seat change Increase6

Green - Cape Progressive Party
Blue - South African Party
Grey - Independent

Prime Minister before election

Gordon Sprigg
Independent Progressive

Elected Prime Minister

Leander Starr Jameson
Progressive

Elections for the House of Assembly were held in Cape Colony in 1904. The election was a victory for the Progressives under Leander Starr Jameson, who had first achieved prominence for his role in the ill-fated Jameson Raid.[1]

The incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Sprigg had been elected in 1898 as a Progressive, however the Progressives had been wracked by internal divisions. Whilst most of the party had been able to reconcile under Jameson, Sprigg and his Commissioner of Public Works Arthur Douglass, had been forced to contest the election as Independent Progressives. Both of them would lose their seats to Progressive candidates. The election also saw former Prime Minister William Schreiner lose his seat.[2][3] Sprigg would resign as Prime Minister some days after the last results were announced, and was succeeded by Jameson.[4] Following the election James Tennant Molteno would be replaced by John X. Merriman as leader of the South African Party.

Thirteen constituencies were uncontested.[5] Following the election of 95 members, Act 4 was passed, which gave a further twelve seats to the House. These were elected through by-elections in the same year.[5]

Results

[edit]
Map of Legislative Assembly results by province.
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Progressive Party50+6
South African Party42New
IndependentSouth African Party alliance2
Pro-SAP independent1
Labour Party0New
Other parties0
Total95+16
Total votes83,801
Registered voters/turnout135,17761.99
Source: Smith

Statistics

[edit]
Constituency Seats Registered voters Votes available Votes cast
Albany 2 2,036 4,072 3,091
Albert 2 1,824 3,648 2,324
Aliwal North 2 1,452 2,904 2,271
Barkly West 2 1,953 3,906 2,246
Beaufort West 2 2,124 4,248 2,696
Caledon 2 2,478 4,956 3,469
Cape Town 7 17,131 119,917 43,108
Cathcart 1 1,171 1,171 814
Clanwilliam 2 1,713 3,426 Unopposed
Colesberg 2 2,184 4,368 3,062
Cradock 2 2,025 4,050 Unopposed
East London 3 4,697 14,091 5,036
Fort Beaufort 2 1,659 3,318 2,516
George 4 4,002 16,008 10,593
Graaff-Reinet 2 2,417 4,834 2,727
Graham's Town 2 1,837 3,674 1,834
Griqualand East 2 1,989 3,978 Unopposed
Humansdorp 1 1,395 1,395 Unopposed
Jansenville 2 1,937 3,874 Unopposed
Kimberley 4 6,404 25,616 12,683
King William's Town 3 2,800 8,400 3,449
Malmesbury 2 2,443 4,886 Unopposed
Mafeking 1 758 758 Unopposed
Middelburg 1 1,484 1,484 Unopposed
Namaqualand 2 2,016 4,032 3,133
Oudtshoorn 3 3,060 9,180 4,313
Paarl 3 2,864 8,592 6,890
Piquetberg 2 1,582 3,164 2,332
Prieska 1 1,029 1,029 736
Port Elizabeth 5 10,951 54,755 22,049
Queen's Town 3 3,617 10,851 5,514
Richmond 2 1,922 3,844 1,977
Riversdale 2 2,209 4,418 Unopposed
Simon's Town 1 1,634 1,634 1,104
Somerset East 2 2,577 5,154 4,300
Stellenbosch 2 2,195 4,390 3,559
Swellendam 2 2,695 5,390 3,605
Tembuland 2 2,789 5,578 4,079
Uitenhage 3 3,080 9,240 5,712
Victoria East 2 779 1,558 1,029
Victoria West 2 2,334 4,668 Unopposed
Vryburg 2 944 1,888 Unopposed
Wodehouse 2 2,001 4,002 2,663
Woodstock 3 6,442 19,326 8,176
Worcester 3 3,630 10,890 Unopposed
Wynberg 3 4,914 14,742 4,079
Total 107 135,177 437,307 187,169
Source: Statistical register of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope

References

[edit]
  1. ^ John Charrington Smith, Alan (1980). General Elections in the Cape Colony: 1898-1908 (PDF). University of Cape Town.
  2. ^ Wills, Walter H. (2006). The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketchbook, 1907. Jeppestown Press. p. 325. ISBN 9780955393631.
  3. ^ Switzer, Les (1993). Power and Resistance in an African Society: The Ciskei Xhosa and the Making of South Africa. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780199296637.
  4. ^ Garner, James Wilford (1904). "Record of Political Events". Political Science Quarterly. 19 (2): 366. doi:10.2307/2140296. ISSN 0032-3195.
  5. ^ a b Statistical register of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, piv