1961 Southern Rhodesian constitutional referendum

1961 Southern Rhodesian constitutional referendum

26 July 1961 (1961-07-26)
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 42,004 65.79% No 21,846 34.21% Valid votes 63,850 99.13% Invalid or blank votes 558 0.87% Total votes 64,408 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 83,486 77.15%

Politics of Rhodesia
Political history — Overview 1890–1923  BSA Company rule 1923–1980  Southern Rhodesia 1953–1963  Rhodesia–Nyasaland Federation 1965–1979  Rhodesia under UDI  1979  Zimbabwe Rhodesia (under UDI)
Government Governor / Queen / President Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister Cabinet
Legislature 1899–1923  Legislative Council 1924–1970  Legislative Assembly 1970–1979  Parliament Leader of the Opposition
Elections General 1924 1928 1933 1934 1939 1946 1948 1954 1958 1962 1965 1970 1974 1977 1979 1980 Legislative Council 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 Referendums 1922 1934 1953 1961 1964 1969 1979
Political parties African National Congress Communist Party Labour Party Liberal Party Rhodesia Party Rhodesian Action Party Rhodesian Front United African National Council United Federal Party Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU)
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v t e

A constitutional referendum was held in Southern Rhodesia, then a constituent territory of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, on 26 July 1961. The new constitution was approved by about 66% of those who voted; turnout was 77%.

The referendum was held using the same franchise as elections to the Legislative Assembly, which excluded most Africans.^[1]

Background

Following three years of negotiations with the Southern Rhodesian government and other parties, the British government put forward a draft constitution on 13 June 1961. It provided for a parliamentary system, with a 65-seat parliament;^[2] the previously common voters' roll was divided into two rolls, the "A" roll and the "B" roll, the latter of which had lower qualifications intended to make it easier for prospective voters to enter the political system. There were 50 "A"-roll constituencies and 15 larger "B"-roll districts, with a complicated mechanism of "cross-voting" allowing "B"-roll voters to slightly influence "A"-roll elections and vice versa. This system was theoretically non-racial, but in practice the "A" roll was largely white and the "B" roll was almost all black.^[3]

Results

Unofficial National Democratic Party referendum

In protest against the official referendum, the black nationalist National Democratic Party (NDP) ran its own poll, professedly based on "one man, one vote", on 23 July. This was peacefully operated, but reportedly amateur and potentially biased in its execution, garnering criticism from British officials, rival nationalists and other observers amidst its virtually unanimous rejection of the constitution. The British High Commission commented that voters in the NDP referendum appeared to be subject to intimidation by the NDP officials running the exercise, and that the votes did not seem to be secret. The rival Zimbabwe National Party called the NDP poll "phoney" and said it was designed "to hoodwink the African people".^[5] There were many cases of people posting multiple ballots: two whites told the press they had voted twice and one black man proudly announced that he had voted 11 times.^[5] After the government released the results of the official referendum, the NDP announced that their poll had garnered 467,189 votes against the constitution, and only 584 in favour—a reported majority of about 99.9% against.^[5] According to historian J. R. T. Wood, the NDP referendum "smacked of farce";^[5] he highlights the fact that the general strike of black workers called by the NDP for the next day was adhered to by less than 10% of the black workforce.^[5]

Results

References

Bibliography

• Wood, J. R. T. (June 2005). So far and no further! Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959–1965. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-4952-8.

This page was last edited on 5 September 2023, at 19:22