1965 Rhodesian general election
General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 7 May 1965. The results was a victory for the ruling Rhodesian Front, which won 50 of the 65 seats in the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly. Later in the year, the government made a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).
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All 65 seats to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly 33 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Rhodesia |
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Electoral system
The election was held using two electoral rolls, an A roll, which was largely white (95,208 whites and 2,256 black Africans)[1][2] and a B roll, which was largely African. Although both rolls could vote for all 65 seats, A roll votes were given higher weighting for the 50 constituency seats, and B roll votes higher weighting for the 15 district seats.
Campaign
Two parties contested the elections; the Rhodesian Front ran in all 50 constituency seats (in 22 of which it was unopposed) but no district seats. The Rhodesia Party ran in both the constituency and district seats.[1]
Results
Party | Constituencies | Districts | Total seats |
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A Roll | B Roll | Seats | A Roll | B Roll | Seats | |||||||||
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||||
Rhodesian Front | 28,175 | 78.4 | 206 | 23.6 | 50 | − | − | − | − | − | 50 | +15 | ||
Rhodesia Party | 6,381 | 17.7 | 505 | 60.2 | 0 | 12,936 | 36.6 | 754 | 46.1 | 10 | 10 | –5 | ||
Independents | 964 | 2.7 | 4 | 0.4 | 0 | 17,770 | 50.3 | 689 | 40.3 | 5 | 5 | +4 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 411 | − | 157 | − | − | 4,595 | − | 193 | − | − | − | − | ||
Total | 35,931 | 100 | 877 | 100 | 50 | 35,301 | 100 | 1,636 | 100 | 15 | 65 | 0 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 97,284 | 36.9 | 11,577 | 7.5 | − | − | 97,284 | 36.2 | 11,577 | 14.0 | − | − | ||
Source: Sternberger et al.[1] |
References
- Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, p1678
- 7 May 1965 House of Assembly Election African Elections Database