1958 South African general election

1958 South African general election

← 1953 16 April 1958 1961 →

All 156 general roll seats in the House of Assembly
79 seats needed for a majority
Registered1,563,426
Turnout74.42% (Decrease 13.53pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader J. G. Strijdom De Villiers Graaff
Party National United
Last election 49.48%, 94 seats 47.65%, 57 seats
Seats won 103 53
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 4
Popular vote 642,006 492,080
Percentage 55.54% 42.57%
Swing Increase 6.06pp Decrease 5.08pp

Results by province

Prime Minister before election

J. G. Strijdom
National

Elected Prime Minister

J. G. Strijdom
National

General elections were held in South Africa on 16 April 1958. The result was a victory for the National Party, now under the leadership of J. G. Strijdom after the retirement of D. F. Malan in 1954. The opposition United Party campaigned for the first time under De Villiers Graaff, who would remain party leader for two decades.

The National Party won 103 seats in the House of Assembly. It was the first election in South Africa with a whites-only electorate, following the removal of the Cape Qualified Franchise in the late 1950s, after the resolution of the coloured vote constitutional crisis. Coloured voters were now represented by four white MPs elected in separate constituencies, after the model introduced for native (black) voters in 1936. As these latter (NMP) seats were abolished in 1960, this was the only general election in which both separate coloured and native (Black) MPs were seated.[1]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference inut_44 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).