1948 South African General Election
The apartheid election26 May 1948 · The apartheid parliament · 150 seats, 76 for a majority
General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a major turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D.
A whites-only election under apartheid: the great majority of South Africans were denied the vote entirely. Recorded here as history, with that exclusion stated plainly.
Government leader before
Jan Smuts
United
Government leader after
D. F. Malan
Reunited National
Largest force
Herenigde Nasionale Party
70 of 150 seats
Turnout
80.3%
The result
| Share of the Assembly | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herenigde Nasionale Party | D. F. Malan | 70 | +27 | 401 834 | 37.7% | +1.0 | |
| United Party | Jan Smuts | 65 | +24 | 524 230 | 49.2% | -0.5 | |
| Afrikaner Party | Nicolaas Havenga | 9 | +9 | 41 885 | 3.9% | +2.1 | |
| Labour Party | John Christie | 6 | +3 | 27 360 | 2.6% | -1.8 |