1904 Cape Colony parliamentary election

Elections for the House of Assembly were held in Cape Colony in 1904. The election was a victory for the Progressives under Leander Starr Jameson, who had first achieved prominence for his role in the ill-fated Jameson Raid.[1]

1904 Cape Colony parliamentary election

January & February 1904
All 95 seats in the Assembly 48 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Leander Starr Jameson James Tennant Molteno Party Progressive South African Party Leader's seat Grahamstown Somerset East Seats won 50 42 Seat change 6
Green - Cape Progressive Party Blue - South African Party Grey - Independent
Prime Minister before election Gordon Sprigg Independent Progressive Elected Prime Minister Leander Starr Jameson Progressive

The incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Sprigg had been elected in 1898 as a Progressive, however the Progressives had been wracked by internal divisions. Whilst most of the party had been able to reconcile under Jameson, Sprigg and his Commissioner of Public Works Arthur Douglass, had been forced to contest the election as Independent Progressives. Both of them would lose their seats to Progressive candidates. The election also saw former Prime Minister William Schreiner lose his seat.[2][3] Sprigg would resign as Prime Minister some days after the last results were announced, and was succeeded by Jameson. Following the election James Tennant Molteno would be replaced by John X. Merriman as leader of the South African Party.

Thirteen constituencies were uncontested.[4] Following the election of 95 members, Act 4 was passed, which gave a further twelve seats to the House. These were elected through by-elections in the same year.[4]

Results

Below is a table summarising the results of the election.[5]

Party		Seats	Seats change	Votes*	%	% Change
	Progressive	50	6	42,009
	South African Party	42		41,792
	Independent-South African Party	2
	Independent (SAP leaning)	1
	Other (Labour etc)	0
Total		95			100

• Note: Votes are approximations. Nearly all constituencies were multi-member constituencies, where voters were able to cast varying numbers of votes, making strict voting numbers immediately unclear.

Statistics

Constituency	Seats	Registered voters	Votes available	Votes cast	Turnout
Albany	2	2,036	4,072	3,091	75.91
Albert	2	1,824	3,648	2,324	63.71
Aliwal North	2	1,452	2,904	2,271	78.20
Barkly West	2	1,953	3,906	2,246	57.50
Beaufort West	2	2,124	4,248	2,696	63.47
Caledon	2	2,478	4,956	3,469	70.00
Cape Town	7	17,131	119,917	43,108	35.95
Cathcart	1	1,171	1,171	814	69.51
Clanwilliam	2	1,713	3,426	Unopposed
Colesberg	2	2,184	4,368	3,062	70.10
Cradock	2	2,025	4,050	Unopposed
East London	3	4,697	14,091	5,036	35.74
Fort Beaufort	2	1,659	3,318	2,516	75.83
George	4	4,002	16,008	10,593	66.17
Graaff-Reinet	2	2,417	4,834	2,727	56.41
Graham's Town	2	1,837	3,674	1,834	49.92
Griqualand East	2	1,989	3,978	Unopposed
Humansdorp	1	1,395	1,395	Unopposed
Jansenville	2	1,937	3,874	Unopposed
Kimberley	4	6,404	25,616	12,683	49.51
King William's Town	3	2,800	8,400	3,449	41.06
Malmesbury	2	2,443	4,886	Unopposed
Mafeking	1	758	758	Unopposed
Middelburg	1	1,484	1,484	Unopposed
Namaqualand	2	2,016	4,032	3,133	77.70
Oudtshoorn	3	3,060	9,180	4,313	46.98
Paarl	3	2,864	8,592	6,890	80.19
Piquetberg	2	1,582	3,164	2,332	73.70
Prieska	1	1,029	1,029	736	71.53
Port Elizabeth	5	10,951	54,755	22,049	40.27
Queen's Town	3	3,617	10,851	5,514	50.82
Richmond	2	1,922	3,844	1,977	51.43
Riversdale	2	2,209	4,418	Unopposed
Simon's Town	1	1,634	1,634	1,104	67.56
Somerset East	2	2,577	5,154	4,300	83.43
Stellenbosch	2	2,195	4,390	3,559	81.07
Swellendam	2	2,695	5,390	3,605	66.88
Tembuland	2	2,789	5,578	4,079	73.13
Uitenhage	3	3,080	9,240	5,712	61.82
Victoria East	2	779	1,558	1,029	66.05
Victoria West	2	2,334	4,668	Unopposed
Vryburg	2	944	1,888	Unopposed
Wodehouse	2	2,001	4,002	2,663	66.54
Woodstock	3	6,442	19,326	8,176	42.31
Worcester	3	3,630	10,890	Unopposed
Wynberg	3	4,914	14,742	4,079	27.67
Total	107	135,177	437,307	187,169	47.80
Source: Statistical register of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope

References

1. John Charrington Smith, Alan (1980). General Elections in the Cape Colony: 1898-1908 (PDF). University of Cape Town.
2. Wills, Walter H. (2006). The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketchbook, 1907. Jeppestown Press. p. 325.
3. Switzer, Les (1993). Power and Resistance in an African Society: The Ciskei Xhosa and the Making of South Africa. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 159.
4. Statistical register of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, piv
5. John Charrington Smith, Alan (1980). General Elections in the Cape Colony: 1898-1908 (PDF). University of Cape Town. pp. 48, 49, 112.