1962 Southern Rhodesian general election

General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 14 December 1962. Voters elected 65 members of the Legislative Assembly. The election was notable for bringing to power the Rhodesian Front, initially under Winston Field, which set the colony on the course for its eventual Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

1962 Southern Rhodesian general election

14 December 1962

All 65 seats in the Legislative Assembly
33 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Winston Field Edgar Whitehead
Party RF United Party
Last election 13 17
Seats won 35 29
Seat change Increase 22 Increase 12

Prime Minister before election

Edgar Whitehead
United Party

Elected Prime Minister

Winston Field
RF

Background

The election was the first held under the 1961 constitution which brought in a new electoral system. The chief issue in the elections was the future of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, under which Southern Rhodesia formed a united country with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, under the leadership of Sir Roy Welensky. The United Federal Party government of Sir Edgar Whitehead favoured continuation of the Federation in some form, together with moves towards multiracialism.

Opponents of the Federation had formed the Dominion Party but coming up to the election, the party had suffered division. The Rhodesia Reform Party had been formed by Ian Smith early in 1962 as a more moderate group. Dominion Party leader William Harper resigned in February 1962, stating that he intended this to be the catalyst towards the creation of a united opposition. By mid-March, the Dominion Party and the Rhodesia Reform Party had put together a broad plan for the new Rhodesian Front with Winston Field, from the Dominion Party, as its leader. Field had to call for unity at the first RF congress in September 1962.

Electoral system

The electorate was divided into the 'A roll' and the 'B roll'. The 'A roll' and consisted of people meeting certain income and property qualifications, which were lowered if the person had more extensive education. This in practice meant that 95.2% of those on the A roll were of European descent. The 'B roll' which consisted of those meeting a lesser income cap or a lesser property cap, both lowered for those with a longer education. 91.3% of those on the B roll were of African descent, although some Europeans only qualified for this roll. The figures were exaggerated by a largely successful campaign on behalf of black African nationalist leaders to persuade their supporters not to register to boycott the election. Most black Africans did not qualify for either roll anyway.

There were two different types of place returning members to the House of Assembly. The colony was divided into 50 constituencies each returning a single member, and in addition, there were 15 districts which also returned one member each. For the constituencies, voters from the 'A roll' and the 'B roll' could both vote, with their votes of equal value. Due to the fact that the 'A roll' was substantially larger than the 'B roll', these constituencies were almost entirely elected by Rhodesians of European descent. Theoretically, if the 'B roll' votes was more than a quarter of the total, they would be reduced in value to a quarter, but in practice this never happened due to the low enrollment and low turnout.

Both rolls also voted for the district seats. However, the total votes from the 'A roll' were reduced to equal a quarter of those of the 'B roll' voters. This meant that the district seats were largely elected by Africans.

Campaign

There was a robust campaign, which all understood as leading to a watershed election. Political meetings saw a great deal of heckling. The RF was keen to reassure nervous voters that it supported some continued links with Northern Rhodesia, and campaigned for tougher enforcement of law and order and security. Both the UFP and the RF supported moves to independence but the RF was more keen, and stated that independence could be either within or without the Commonwealth.

The principal division was on race relations. The UFP leader Sir Edgar Whitehead pledged to appoint Southern Rhodesia's first African Minister should he be re-elected. The RF insisted that the UFP's moves were reckless and endangered Rhodesian society. They saw the 1961 constitution as opening the door to African dominance of Europeans "before the former has acquired adequate knowledge and experience of democratic government" and pointed to Kenya, where Europeans had been forced out of the country, as an example of what might happen. The UFP regarded the RF as reactionaries and throwbacks, and a UFP poster depicted a white man identified as an RF supporter with his head literally in the sand.

Results

A win by the UFP was generally expected. The Examiner magazine said "Let no one doubt that the U.F.P. will win hands down; the Establishment always does in Southern Rhodesia." However, much to everyone's surprise (including their own), the RF found itself with a large majority of the Constituencies and an overall majority in the House of Assembly. The UFP took 14 out of 15 of the Districts, with one (Highfield) going to Dr Ahrn Palley as an Independent candidate. The UFP thus numbered 14 Africans out of a caucus of 29, but the party soon ceased to be a force in Rhodesian politics; from 1965 then until the end of minority rule in 1979 no opposition members were elected from the primarily European constituencies, Rhodesia thus would have a dominant party system.

Party Constituency District Total
seats
+/–
A roll B roll Total A roll A roll devalued B roll Total
Votes%Votes%Votes%SeatsVotes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Seats
Rhodesian Front37,92056.3536215.1138,28254.943535,07054.0335457.1930611.8766020.65035+22
United Federal Party28,51742.381,94681.2230,46343.721528,05543.2324739.901,87072.562,11766.241429+12
Central Africa Party750.11291.211040.1501,7642.72101.6235913.9336911.5500New
Independents7761.15592.468351.200150.0281.29421.63501.5611+1
Total67,288100.002,396100.0069,684100.005064,904100.00619100.002,577100.003,196100.001565+35
Valid votes69,68497.7067,48196.13
Invalid votes1,6442.302,7143.87
Total votes71,328100.0070,195100.00
Registered voters/turnout90,78510,632101,41770.3390,78510,632101,41769.21
Source: Willson

By constituency

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
Candidate Party A Roll B Roll Total
Votes Votes Votes %
ARUNDEL
A 1,885 (81.6%)
B 13 (38.5%)
Blair Vincent Ewing UFP 926 4 930 60.3
Olive Hope Robertson RF 612 1 613 39.7
AVONDALE
A 1,873 (77.0%)
B 10 (40.0%)
Albert Rubidge Washington Stumbles RF 813 2 815 56.3
Ian Radcliffe Selmer UFP 630 2 632 43.7
BELLEVUE
A 1,899 (81.0%)
B 7 (28.6%)
Robert Patterson RF 865 1 866 56.2
John Gustav Haycraft Gasson UFP 674 1 675 43.8
BELVEDERE
A 1,800 (77.4%)
B 13 (69.2%)
Gordon Foster Thomas UFP 736 8 744 53.0
Dennis Divaris RF 658 1 659 47.0
BORROWDALE
A 1,914 (78.7%)
B 25 (48.0%)
Peter Heaton Grey UFP 977 9 986 64.9
Thomas Ian Fraser Sandeman RF 530 3 533 35.1
BRAESIDE
A 1,859 (78.5%)
B 27 (44.4%)
Herbert Douglas Tanner RF 931 4 935 63.6
Michael Eddington Currie UFP 528 8 536 36.4
BULAWAYO CENTRAL
A 1,841 (68.1%)
B 41 (63.4%)
Benny Goldstein UFP 628 22 650 50.8
Norman Munro Campbell RF 626 4 630 49.2
BULAWAYO DISTRICT
A 1,765 (70.4%)
B 708 (19.6%)
Arthur Gale Langford RF 692 10 702 50.8
Bryan Roy Thompson UFP 475 100 575 41.6
Benjamin Baron CAP 75 29 104 7.5
BULAWAYO EAST
A 1,932 (77.8%)
B 17 (52.9%)
Abraham Eliezer Abrahamson UFP 1,057 7 1,064 70.4
Arthur McCarter RF 446 2 448 29.6
BULAWAYO NORTH
A 1,810 (76.1%)
B 30 (60.0%)
John Wrathall RF 724 7 731 52.4
Cyril James Hatty UFP 653 11 664 47.6
BULAWAYO SOUTH
A 1,895 (65.8%)
B 45 (57.8%)
John William Phillips RF 698 11 709 55.7
Robert Godlonton Hoole UFP 549 15 564 44.3
CENTRAL
A 1,669 (73.2%)
B 442 (18.8%)
William Joseph John Cary RF 874 13 887 68.0
Anthony John Arthur Peck UFP 347 70 417 32.0
CHARTER
A 1,611 (71.1%)
B 847 (17.1%)
Clifford Walter Dupont RF 808 24 832 64.4
Francis Seymour Brian Willoughby UFP 338 121 459 35.6
EASTERN
A 1,884 (71.3%)
B 508 (20.3%)
Alan James Wroughton MacLeod RF 768 18 786 54.3
Charles Fitzwilliam Clifford Verry Cadiz UFP 576 85 661 45.7
GATOOMA
A 1,561 (72.3%)
B 215 (25.6%)
William John Harper RF 784 5 789 66.6
Robert Norman Wells UFP 345 50 395 33.4
GREENDALE
A 1,814 (76.8%)
B 195 (7.7%)
Mark Partridge RF 779 3 782 55.5
Herbert Jack Quinton UFP 615 12 627 44.5
GREENWOOD
A 1,869 (71.7%)
B 9 (33.3%)
William Vernon Brelsford UFP 716 1 717 53.4
William Johnstone Jarvis RF 532 - 532 39.6
Ivor Pitch Ind 92 2 94 7.0
GWEBI
A 1,823 (82.3%)
B 254 (25.6%)
Lord James Angus Graham RF 995 13 1,008 64.4
John Derek Crozier UFP 505 52 557 35.6
GWELO
A 1,697 (70.5%)
B 26 (61.5%)
Desmond Lardner-Burke RF 768 6 774 63.8
Eileen Doyle UFP 429 10 439 36.2
GWELO RURAL
A 1,822 (73.2%)
B 143 (18.2%)
Charles Falcon Scott Clark RF 938 4 942 69.3
John Douglas Downs UFP 395 22 417 30.7
HARTLEY
A 1,551 (78.4%)
B 338 (24.0%)
P. K. van der Byl RF 814 7 821 63.3
Geoffrey Stanhope Courtney UFP 402 74 476 36.7
HATFIELD
A 1,894 (77.7%)
B 20 (20.0%)
John Gaunt RF 991 4 995 67.4
Stewart Edward Aitken-Cade UFP 481 - 481 32.6
HIGHLANDS NORTH
A 1,760 (81.0%)
B 10 (70.0%)
Geoffrey Ellman Brown UFP 850 6 856 59.7
William Robert Rumbold RF 576 1 577 40.3
HIGHLANDS SOUTH
A 1,749 (75.2%)
B 17 (58.8%)
Alan David Butler UFP 668 9 677 51.1
Guy Openshaw Lister RF 647 1 648 48.9
HILLCREST
A 1,906 (79.9%)
B 9 (55.6%)
John Arthur Newington RF 877 3 880 57.6
Michael Leib Ayl UFP 646 2 648 42.4
HILLSIDE
A 1,840 (79.9%)
B 8 (50.0%)
Maureen Thelma Watson UFP 819 3 822 55.7
William Redpath Kinleyside RF 652 1 653 44.3
JAMESON
A 1,805 (77.2%)
B 18 (22.2%)
Jack Howman RF 864 2 866 62.0
Josiah Douglas Carter UFP 493 1 494 35.3
William Alfred Porter Ind 37 1 38 2.7
LOMAGUNDI
A 2,041 (75.1%)
B 327 (28.4%)
Lance Bales Smith RF 990 13 1,003 61.7
Robert Gordon Hoskins-Davies UFP 542 80 622 38.3
MABELREIGN
A 1,866 (78.8%)
B 11 (72.7%)
Patrick Palmer-Owen RF 882 3 885 59.8
William Daniel Gale UFP 589 5 594 40.2
MARANDELLAS
A 1,676 (75.9%)
B 354 (25.7%)
Winston Field RF 746 9 755 55.4
John Peacey Dankwerts UFP 526 82 608 44.6
MARLBOROUGH
A 1,786 (82.0%)
B 14 (64.3%)
Harry Reedman RF 938 - 938 63.6
John Desmond Burrows UFP 527 9 536 36.4
MATOBO
A 1,777 (70.2%)
B 361 (16.3%)
Harry Roberts RF 662 8 670 51.3
Edward William Kirby UFP 585 51 636 48.7
MAZOE
A 2,048 (79.0%)
B 467 (27.0%)
George Rollo Hayman RF 956 16 972 55.8
Neil Patrick Hammond UFP 661 110 771 44.2
MILTON PARK
A 1,851 (78.9%)
B 14 (35.7%)
William Alexander Eustace Winterton UFP 868 5 873 59.6
Dorothy Patricia Cooper RF 592 - 592 40.4
MTOKO
A 1,526 (76.3%)
B 488 (24.0%)
George Roger John Hackwill UFP 564 89 653 51.0
Ronald William Rankine RF 600 28 628 49.0
QUEEN'S PARK
A 2,054 (73.7%)
B 18 (61.1%)
Ian Finlay McLean RF 1,147 10 1,157 75.9
Laurence Ayers UFP 366 1 367 24.1
QUE QUE
A 1,751 (73.6%)
B 114 (35.1%)
Andrew Dunlop RF 718 5 723 54.4
Morris Isaac Hirsch UFP 571 35 606 45.6
RAYLTON
A 1,917 (74.1%)
B 38 (47.4%)
Thomas Alexander Pinchen RF 851 1 852 59.2
Patrick Lennon UFP 569 17 586 40.8
RUSAPE
A 1,729 (73.0%)
B 580 (26.9%)
Philip van Heerden RF 962 19 981 69.2
Patrick Joseph Beary Power UFP 300 137 437 30.8
SALISBURY CENTRAL
A 1,780 (67.2%)
B 22 (63.6%)
Jeremiah Robert Ryan RF 621 4 625 51.6
Ernest Jackson Whitaker UFP 576 10 586 48.4
SALISBURY CITY
A 1,837 (60.7%)
B 38 (44.7%)
John Roger Nicholson UFP 619 12 631 55.7
John Plagis RF 496 5 501 44.3
SALISBURY NORTH
A 1,935 (76.6%)
B 43 (79.1%)
Sir Edgar Whitehead UFP 871 31 902 59.5
Nicholas Cambitzis RF 611 3 614 40.5
SHABANI
A 1,621 (66.7%)
B 435 (14.7%)
Ian Birt Harper Dillon RF 756 11 767 66.0
George Edward Moorcroft UFP 317 39 356 31.0
Ronald John Hayes Auret Ind 9 14 23 2.0
UMTALI EAST
A 1,852 (71.8%)
B 11 (100%)
Bernard Horace Musset RF 805 6 811 60.5
Leslie Herbert Morris UFP 525 5 530 39.5
UMTALI WEST
A 1,920 (65.1%)
B 164 (25.0%)
John Christie RF 744 8 752 58.2
Harold Owen Trouncer UFP 506 33 539 41.8
UMZINGWANE
A 1,827 (70.1%)
B 442 (15.6%)
Ian Smith RF 797 6 803 59.5
Reginald Ephraim Sagar UFP 483 63 546 40.5
VICTORIA
A 1,593 (69.4%)
B 808 (30.1%)
George Holland Hartley RF 722 23 745 55.3
Andrea Zographos UFP 383 220 603 44.7
WANKIE
A 1,846 (68.5%)
B 550 (20.4%)
George Wilburn Rudland RF 754 14 768 55.8
Basil Henry George Sparrow UFP 511 98 609 44.2
WATERFALLS
A 1,946 (76.7%)
B 59 (49.2%)
Arthur Philip Smith RF 1,040 6 1,046 68.7
Eric Peter Gardner UFP 421 20 441 29.0
Andrew John Lawson Ind 32 3 35 2.3
WILLOWVALE
A 1,878 (56.1%)
B 1,279 (11.0%)
Gerald Joseph Raftopoulos UFP 477 89 566 47.4
Victor Patrick Odendaal RF 451 13 464 38.9
Gaston Thomas Thornicroft Ind 125 39 164 13.7
Second Count
Gerald Joseph Raftopoulos UFP 482 91 573 55.1
Victor Patrick Odendaal RF 452 14 466 44.9

District results

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
Candidate Party A Roll B Roll Total
Votes Devalued Votes Votes %
BELINGWE
A 2,221 (62.9%)
B 649 (22.0%)
Jotham Siyapela Hove UFP 445 11 102 113 63.8
Samson John Mazibiso CAP 86 2 31 33 18.6
Gijima Msindo RF 866 21 10 31 17.5
BINDURA
A 18,664 (76.6%)
B 644 (33.2%)
Paul Harbinett Joseph Chanetsa UFP 7,633 28 166 194 73.2
Aloys Tayengwa Chinyani RF 6,132 22 17 39 14.7
John William Horn CAP 529 1 31 32 12.1
GOKWE
A 7,901 (70.3%)
B 726 (27.1%)
Philip Elijah Chigogo UFP 1,851 16 138 154 62.9
Job Mahambi Kumalo RF 3,568 31 26 57 23.3
Herbert Joseph Thompson CAP 133 1 33 34 13.9
HIGHFIELD
A 195 (19.0%)
B 651 (13.2%)
Ahrn Palley Ind 15 8 42 50 47.6
Gahadzikwa Albert Chaza UFP 19 10 36 46 43.8
Ralph Drew Palmer CAP 2 1 7 8 7.6
Patrick Joseph Geoffrey RF 1 - 1 1 1.0
Second count
Ahrn Palley Ind 15 8 42 50 47.6
Gahadzikwa Albert Chaza UFP 19 11 36 47 44.8
Ralph Drew Palmer CAP 2 1 7 8 7.6
Third count
Ahrn Palley Ind 15 8 42 50 52.1
Gahadzikwa Albert Chaza UFP 19 10 36 46 47.9
HUNYANI
A 8,559 (74.5%)
B 619 (23.4%)
Luke Mangarazi Kandengwa UFP 2,138 12 87 99 55.0
Mathew Kwenda RF 3,950 22 25 47 26.1
Anthony Whitehead Hodges CAP 288 1 33 34 18.9
INYAZURA
A 2,002 (72.0%)
B 757 (28.0%)
Ambrose Charles Majongwe UFP 445 16 172 188 71.2
Titus Ndoro RF 980 36 20 56 21.2
James Caleb Matsika CAP 17 - 20 20 7.6
MAGONDI
A 3,619 (75.7%)
B 808 (26.2%)
William Kawara UFP 863 16 158 174 66.2
Elijah Mambo RF 1,832 35 13 48 18.2
Eric Gwanzura CAP 44 - 41 41 15.6
MAKABUSI
A 12,116 (66.7%)
B 652 (23.0%)
Patrick John Daniel Rubatika UFP 3,659 16 100 116 62.3
Martin Geoffrey Edwards RF 3,942 18 21 39 21.0
Miles Anthony Pedder CAP 476 2 29 31 16.7
MANGWENDI
A 2,929 (73.4%)
B 665 (23.9%)
Titus John Hlazo UFP 947 17 82 99 50.3
Stephen Zachious Bwanya RF 1,168 21 47 68 34.5
Richard Chikosi CAP 36 - 30 30 15.2
MANICALAND
A 5,656 (69.8%)
B 683 (26.6%)
Percy Hudson M'kudu UFP 1,626 18 118 136 60.2
Walter Dumisani Chawheta RF 2,224 25 24 49 21.7
Ratilal Damodar Devchand CAP 100 1 40 41 18.1
MATABELELAND NORTH
A 19,483 (71.4%)
B 743 (30.4%)
Joel Msindo Behane UFP 6,394 25 177 202 71.9
Aaron Mapisa RF 7,519 30 49 79 28.1
MATABELELAND SOUTH
A 3,604 (67.6%)
B 803 (16.2%)
Julius Masola UFP 1,051 13 120 133 82.6
Paul Zekare RF 1,386 18 10 28 17.4
MPOPOMA
A 1,231 (64.9%)
B 707 (20.7%)
Cephas Hlabangana UFP 394 17 117 134 74.4
Phibian Percy John Kadzutu RF 40 1 22 23 12.8
Dick Albert Masunda CAP 365 16 7 23 12.8
NARIRA
A 1,012 (65.3%)
B 717 (16.0%)
Ranches Chereni Makaya UFP 153 6 83 89 62.7
Isaac Hanzi Samuriwo RF 500 21 15 36 25.3
Daniel Jollow Renasu Masawi CAP 8 - 17 17 12.0
NDANGA
A 1,593 (67.7%)
B 808 (32.2%)
Josiah Gondo UFP 437 26 214 240 74.1
Lazarus Dembetembe RF 637 38 21 59 18.2
David Alphabet Tinago CAP 5 - 25 25 7.7

Byelections

Matobo

Harry Roberts died on 13 March 1963, which led to a byelection in Matobo on 23 May 1963.

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
Candidate Party A Roll B Roll Total
Votes Votes Votes %
MATOBO Sherwood Alexander Wilmot RF 825 2 827 59.8
Edward William Kirby UFP 362 194 556 40.2

Arundel

Blair Ewing resigned from Parliament on 4 August 1964 for business reasons, leading to a byelection in the Arundel constituency on 1 October 1964. Sir Roy Welensky, former Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, returned to politics in an attempt to regain the seat; prompted by this, the Rhodesian Front decided that a leading party member newly appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, Clifford Dupont, should give up his seat at Charter to oppose him. Sir Roy was unsuccessful, polling only 633 votes to 1,079 for Dupont.

Avondale

The appointment of A.R.W. Stumbles as Speaker of the Southern Rhodesian Parliament on 28 July 1964 led to his resignation on 1 August 1964. A byelection in his Avondale constituency was held on the same day as that at Arundel. Jack William Pithey, for the Rhodesian Front, won with 1,042 votes to 416 for Sidney Sawyer.

Charter

Following Clifford Dupont's resignation on 15 September 1964 to contest Arundel, Roger Tancred Robert Hawkins was elected unopposed on 6 November 1964, to follow him in his previous constituency.

Matabeleland South

Julius Masola died on 8 September 1964, leading to a byelection in the district of Matabeleland South on 26 November 1964. The result was:

Constituency
Electorate and turnout
Candidate Party A Roll B Roll Total
Votes Devalued Votes Votes %
MATABELELAND SOUTH
A 3,834 (10.3%)
B 871 (16.9%)
Ephraim Jiho Mhlanga RP 317 29 71 100 54.9
Daniel Hilson Dube Ind 76 6 76 82 45.1

References

  • Source Book of Parliamentary Elections and Referenda in Southern Rhodesia 1898–1962 ed. by F.M.G. Willson (Department of Government, University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury 1963)
  • "Rhodesia: The Road to Rebellion" by James Barber (Oxford University Press, 1967)
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