1920 South African general election

1920 South African general election

← 1915 10 March 1920 1921 →

All 134 seats in the House of Assembly
68 seats needed for a majority
Registered421,790
Turnout66.94% (Decrease 4.63pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader J. B. M. Hertzog Jan Smuts
Party National South African
Last election 29.41%, 27 seats 36.67%, 54 seats
Seats won 43 41
Seat change Increase 16 Decrease 13
Popular vote 90,512 101,227
Percentage 32.62% 36.48%
Swing Increase 3.21pp Decrease 0.19pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
SirThomasSmartt.jpg
Leader Thomas Smartt Frederic Creswell
Party Unionist Labour
Last election 19.42%, 39 seats 9.63%, 4 seats
Seats won 25 21
Seat change Decrease 14 Increase 17
Popular vote 38,946 40,639
Percentage 14.03% 14.65%
Swing Decrease 5.39pp Increase 5.01pp

Results by province

Prime Minister before election

Jan Smuts
South African

Elected Prime Minister

Jan Smuts
South African

General elections were held in South Africa on 10 March 1920 to elect the 134 members of the House of Assembly.[1] This was for the third Union Parliament.

The National Party (NP) won the largest number of seats, but not a majority. The South African Party (SAP) minority government continued in office, with Unionist Party support in Parliament. This was the third successive term of SAP government, but only the second period with General Jan Smuts as Prime Minister. The first SAP premier (General Louis Botha) had died in office in 1919, during the previous Parliament.

The National Party became the official opposition for the first time.

  1. ^ "The South African General Election was held on March 10th". The Spectator. London. 20 March 1920. Retrieved 21 February 2016.