The Cape Provincial Council was the
provincial council of the
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...
of South Africa. It was created by the
South Africa Act 1909
The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created the Union of South Africa from the British Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for pote ...
, with effect from the formation of the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910. The first election to the provincial council took place on 15 September 1910 (also the day of the
South African general election, 1910
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
).
The provincial council continued to exist until 1986, when its functions were transferred to a strengthened executive authority appointed by the State President. The province itself was disbanded in 1994, when the provinces were reconstructed.
Election system and terms
The provincial council was composed of members elected, by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
electoral system, from single member electoral divisions. Provinces (like Cape Province) with more than 25 general roll seats in the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
used the same boundaries for provincial council elections as well.
Until 1930 the Provincial Council was elected under the colour-blind
Cape Qualified Franchise
The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections ...
. Subsequently, rights accorded by this franchise were gradually eroded.
After 1936 in addition to the general roll electoral divisions, some additional provincial council seats were created in Cape Province for periods when black and coloured voters were still enfranchised, but had been removed from the general roll. This policy was effected (for black voters) by the Representation of Native Act 1936 and (for coloured voters) by the
Separate Representation of Voters Act
The Separate Representation of Voters Act No. 46 was introduced in South Africa on 18 June 1951. Part of the legislation during the apartheid era, the National Party introduced it to enforce racial segregation, and was part of a deliberate proc ...
1951.
Originally the term of the provincial council was five years, from the first meeting of the council after it was elected. The administrator of the province fixed the date for the meeting, but the provincial council had to meet at least once a year. The South African Parliament could alter the term by legislation (as it did when the provincial elections due in 1941 were postponed until 1943), but there was no general power to dissolve a provincial council before its statutory term expired.
Under the Constitution and Elections Amendment Act 1973, the State President was given the power to dissolve the provincial councils at the same time as the House of Assembly, so that the subsequent provincial election could take place on the same day as a parliamentary general election.
Executive committee
Executive powers were shared by the administrator and an executive committee. This arrangement was neither the traditional 'Westminster' model (such as that which existed at the Union level of government) or a United States style separation of powers between the executive and legislative parts of the government.
The administrator of the province was described, in section 68 (1) of the South Africa Act 1909, as “a chief executive officer … in whose name all executive acts relating to provincial affairs therein shall be done”.
The administrator was appointed, by the national government, for a five-year term and could not be removed except by the Governor General for “cause assigned”. The administrator was not responsible to the provincial council and it had no power to remove him from office. The administrator was the chairman of the provincial executive committee and had both an original and casting vote in its deliberations.
The provincial council elected four persons (usually members of the provincial council), who together with the administrator formed the provincial executive committee. The four members were elected by
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
, so were not necessarily all from the same party.
It was provided, by Section 80 of the South Africa Act 1909, that “the executive committee shall on behalf of the provincial council carry on the administration of provincial affairs’’.
Election results, by party 1917 and 1935-1981
{, class="wikitable"
, -
! Election !! NP !! UP !! Lab !! PFP !! Dom !! Ind !! SAP !! Others !! Total
, -
, 1935 , , align="center" , 20 , , align="center" , 32 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 9 , , align="center" , 61
, -
, 1943 , , align="center" , 18 , , align="center" , 34 , , align="center" , 2 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 1 , , align="center" , 1 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 56
, -
, 1949 , , align="center" , 26 , , align="center" , 28 , , align="center" , 1 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 55
, -
, 1954 , , align="center" , 30 , , align="center" , 24 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 2 , , align="center" , 56
, -
, 1959 , , align="center" , 33 , , align="center" , 21 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 54
, -
, 1965 , , align="center" , 35 , , align="center" , 17 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 2 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 54
, -
, 1970 , , align="center" , 36 , , align="center" , 18 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 54
, -
, 1974 , , align="center" , 37 , , align="center" , 17 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 1 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 55
, -
, 1977 , , align="center" , 44 , , align="center" , 2 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 6 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 3 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 55
, -
, 1981 , , align="center" , 44 , , align="center" , 1 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 10 , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , - , , align="center" , 55
[''Keesing's Contemporary Archives 1981'', page 30973]
, -
Key to parties:-
* NP:
Purified National Party
The Purified National Party ( af, Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party) was a break away from Hertzog's National Party which lasted from 1935 to 1948
In 1935 the main portion of the National Party, led by J. B. M. Hertzog, merged with the South African ...
(1935),
Reunited National Party
The Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party) was a political party in South Africa during the 1940s. It was the product of the reunion of Daniel François Malan's Gesuiwerde Nasionale Party (Purified National Party) and J.B.M. Hert ...
(1943–1949),
National Party (1954–1981)
* UP:
United Party (1935–1974),
New Republic Party (1977–1981)
* Lab:
South African Labour Party
The South African Labour Party ( af, Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty), was a South African political party formed in March 1910 in the newly created Union of South Africa following discussions between trade unions, the Transvaal Independent Lab ...
* PFP:
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
* Progressive Party (Iceland)
* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
(1965–1974),
Progressive Federal Party
The Progressive Federal Party (PFP) ( af, Progressiewe Federale Party) was a South African political party formed in 1977 through merger of the Progressive and Reform parties, eventually changing its name to the Progressive Federal Party. For it ...
(1977–1981)
* Dom
Dominion Party
The Dominion Party was a political party in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, led by Winston Field.
History
The party was established in 1956 by a merger of several political groups and the remains of the Confederate Party, which had d ...
* Ind
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
* SAP
South African Party
nl, Zuidafrikaanse Partij
, leader1_title = Leader (s)
, leader1_name = Louis Botha,Jan Smuts, Barry Hertzog
, foundation =
, dissolution =
, merger = Het Volk South African PartyAfrikaner BondOrangia Unie
, merged ...
* Others Vacant seat
References
* ''Keesing's Contemporary Archives'' (various volumes)
* ''South Africa 1982: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa'', published by Chris van Rensburg Publications
* ''The South African Constitution'', by H.J. May (3rd edition 1955, Juta & Co)
Former provinces of South Africa
Defunct unicameral legislatures
History of South Africa
1910 establishments in South Africa
1986 disestablishments in South Africa