Elections to the South West African Legislative Assembly 1945

← 1940Parliamentary election
in South West Africa 19451950 →

(Share of votes in%)

 %

70

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

60.29

34.67

5.05

UNSWA

NPSWA

Independent

Gains and losses

compared to 1940

 % p

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

+3.31

-2.81

-0.50

UNSWA

NPSWA

Independent

The elections to the South West African Legislative Assembly in 1945 were the fifth (of nine) elections in the Mandate South West Africa . They took place on May 19, 1945.

Elections were made in twelve one-person constituencies. Only the white inhabitants were entitled to vote, not the black majority of the population. In addition, the South African administrator of the mandate appointed six more MPs.

The election campaign for the 12 seats to be won was disastrous for the National Party of South West Africa (NP). In none of the constituencies did she obtain the required majority. As a result of the possibility of appointing MPs by the administrator of South West Africa, another four members of the VNSWP / UNSWP and two members of the NP finally joined the Legislative Assembly , which now consisted of 18 elected representatives. The election campaign was dominated by the question of whether the country would become a fifth province in the Union of South Africa . While the VNSWP derived from the Union's participation in the war for its intention to join the war, the NP tried massively by influencing the structures of the German African Party, which was only founded in March 1939 (dissolved on September 8, 1939, now associated with the VNSWP) under the German-speaking population, the majority of whom, however, was not prepared for the South African participation in the war against Germany and rejected the integration of South West Africa into the neighboring country. The argumentative tactics of the NP tried to imply an unpatriotic policy of the VNSWP.

The German Federation for South West Africa was banned in 1937. In its place, the German Southwest Federation was founded in Windhoek on June 24, 1937 , officially to represent nationally existing cultural interest groups. With the outbreak of World War II, this organization openly supported the policies of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler . The German African Party emerged from it. The German-language daily newspapers Allgemeine Zeitung and Swakopmund Zeitung were bought out of this circle leaning towards the NSDAP , the former renamed German Observer , and the latter ceased to appear. The influence on the opinion-forming of the German-speaking population was now one-sided in this way. The residents of German descent living in South West Africa were first placed under farm or house arrest in 1939 and then taken to internment camps in South Africa from 1940, where they had to remain until 1946. From 1942 the British citizenships granted in 1923 were revoked. A party of the Deutschnamibier therefore did not stand for election.

Election results by constituency

No.	Constituency	UNSWP	National Party of South-West Africa	Independent	votes cast	Constituency winner
1	Gibeon	575	210	./.	785	UNSWP
2	Gobabis	530	391	./.	921	UNSWP
3	Grootfontein	317	182	./.	499	UNSWP
4th	Keetmanshoop	478	419	./.	897	UNSWP
5	Lüderitz Bay	273	179	./.	452	UNSWP
6th	Okahandja	454	253	./.	707	UNSWP
7th	Otjiwarongo	492	479	./.	971	UNSWP
8th	Stampriet	626	431	./.	1057	UNSWP
9	Swakopmund	315	172	./.	487	UNSWP
10	Warm bath	488	./.	459	947	UNSWP
11	Windhoek-Central	453	239	./.	692	UNSWP
12	Windhoek District	484	199	./.	683	UNSWP

A total of 8,557 votes were cast, 5,485 for the UNSWP, 3,613 for the National Party of South-West Africa and 459 for independent candidates. All constituencies were won by the UNSWP. In addition, four representatives from the UNSWP and two from the National Party of South-West Africa were appointed.

A total of 12,240 voters were registered in preparation for the ballot. Of these, 1,600 people were in military service due to the war. André du Pisani : SWA / Namibia: The Politics of Continuity and Change . Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg 1985, ISBN 978-08685-009-28 , pp. 87-88.

literature

• Zedekia Hgavirue: Political parties and interest groups in South West Africa (Namibia). 1972, 1997, ISBN 3-908193-00-1 , p. 302.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 19 May 1945 Legislative Assembly Election African Elections Database
2. ^ André du Pisani : SWA / Namibia: The Politics of Continuity and Change . Jonathan Ball Publishers , Johannesburg 1985, ISBN 978-08685-009-28 , pp. 86-88.
3. ^ André du Pisani : SWA / Namibia: The politics of Continuity and Change . Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg 1986. ISBN 0-86850-092-5 , p. 82