1965 Rhodesian general election

← 1962

7 May 1965

1970 →

All 65 seats in the Legislative Assembly
33 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Leader	Ian Smith	Josiah Gondo
Party	RF	Rhodesia Party
Last election	35	–
Seats won	50	10
Seat change	15	New

Composition of the Legislative Assembly after the election

Prime Minister before election

Ian Smith
RF

Elected Prime Minister

Ian Smith
RF

Politics of Rhodesia


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v t e

General elections were held in Rhodesia, renamed the year before from 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 Legislative Assembly of Rhodesia. Later in the year, the government made a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).

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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		Constituency					District					Total seats	+/−
		A roll		B roll		Seats	A roll		B roll		Seats
		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats
	Rhodesian Front	28,175	79.32	206	28.61	50						50	+15
	Rhodesia Party	6,381	17.96	505	70.14	0	12,936	42.13	754	52.25	10	10	New
	Independents	964	2.71	4	0.56	0	17,770	57.87	689	47.75	5	5	+4
Total		35,520	100.00	720	100.00	50	30,706	100.00	1,443	100.00	15	65	0

Valid votes		35,520	98.86	720	82.10		30,706	86.98	1,443	88.20
Invalid/blank votes		411	1.14	157	17.90		4,595	13.02	193	11.80
Total votes		35,931	100.00	877	100.00		35,301	100.00	1,636	100.00
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

^ ^a ^b ^c 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

v t e Elections and referendums in Zimbabwe
Presidential elections	1990 1996 2002 2008 2013 2018 2023
Parliamentary elections	1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1924 1928 1933 1934 1939 1946 1948 1954 1958 1962 1965 1970 1974 1977 1979 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008 2013 2018 2023
Senate elections	2005 2008 2013 2018 2023
Local elections	... 1980 1981 1983 1984 1985 1991 1993 1995 1998 2002 2003 2006 2008 2013 2018 2023
Referendums	1922 1934 1953 1961 1964 1969 1979 2000 2013
See also: Elections in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

This page was last edited on 2 May 2023, at 02:44