1943 South African general election

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1943 South African general election

← 1938 7 July 1943 1948 →
All 150 general roll seats in the House of Assembly 76 seats needed for a majority
Registered	1,114,110
Turnout	79.49% ( 0.13pp)
First party Second party   Leader Jan Smuts D. F. Malan Party United Reunited National Last election 53.81%, 111 seats 31.31%, 27 seats Seats won 89 43 Seat change 22 16 Popular vote 435,297 321,601 Percentage 49.68% 36.70% Swing 4.13pp 5.39pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Walter Madeley Charles Stallard Party Labour Dominion Last election 5.87%, 3 seats 6.32%, 8 seats Seats won 9 7 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 38,206 29,023 Percentage 4.36% 3.31% Swing 1.51pp 3.01pp
Results by province Largest party by province
Prime Minister before election Jan Smuts United Elected Prime Minister Jan Smuts United

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General elections were held in South Africa on 7 July 1943 to elect the 150 members of the House of Assembly.^[1] The United Party of Jan Smuts won an absolute majority.

Due to a racially segregated election system and restrictive franchise requirements, the electorate consisted almost exclusively of white people (who were roughly 20% of the population). Very few people of coloured and Asian descent were allowed to vote in the election.

Although the United Party was victorious, special wartime circumstances such as soldiers on active service being allowed to vote and Smuts's status as an international statesman probably exaggerated the depth and level of attachment to the United Party.

The elections might also have understated Afrikaner support for nationalist policies, as many newly urbanised Afrikaners had not registered as voters. In addition, the infighting between the various Afrikaner political factions reduced their support during the election. However, this election was the beginning of the rise of D. F. Malan as the dominant spokesman for Afrikanerdom, which would come to fruition in the 1948 elections.