# 1928 Southern Rhodesian general election

General elections were held in Southern Rhodesia on 19 September 1928, the second elections to the Legislative Assembly. The Rhodesia Party, which had won an overwhelming victory in the previous elections in 1924, was re-elected with a slightly reduced majority.

## Electoral system

The Electoral Act, 1928 added a procedure whereby electors could vote by post, but otherwise retained the same system as used previously.
At this election the franchise was codified for the first time by the Electoral Act, 1928. The basis for the act was a consolidation of the previous regulations created by Order in Council, but the opportunity was taken by the Legislative Assembly to change some of the regulations which they had come to dislike. The principal change in the franchise was to restrict registration to British subjects only, whether by birth or naturalisation; previously, resident aliens could take an oath of allegiance to qualify themselves.
A change was also made to the literacy requirements for voters, where the test of writing fifty words of English at the dictation of the registering officer was dropped and the would-be voter merely had to be able to fill in the form in their own handwriting. The financial means qualification was the subject of a minor wording change, whereby the word "income" was added as an alternative to salary or wages.
Having previously elected the Legislative Assembly by means of 15 electoral districts each returning two members, in 1927 a Delimitation Board was established to recommend new districts. The Board intended to recommend 30 single-member districts, but found this to be impractical given the strong population growth around Salisbury and Bulawayo and therefore recommended 22 single-member districts and four two-member districts. The retention of two-member districts was controversial. The Board found its work hampered by the inaccuracy of the electoral roll, and as a result registration procedure was tightened up in the Electoral Act, 1928.

## Political parties

The development of political parties had advanced since the colony was granted self-government. The Progressive Party, an opposition group opposed to monopolies and advocating more development of Matabeleland, had been formed in June 1927 from a group of independent members, and was able to nominate 22 candidates for the 30 seats. The Rhodesia Labour Party had increased its strength in the towns.
Also in 1927 the Country Party had been formed by dissident farmers in the Rhodesian Agricultural Union.

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
| | Rhodesia Party | 11,177 | 52.76 | 22 | –4 |
| | Progressive Party | 6,358 | 30.01 | 4 | New |
| | Rhodesia Labour Party | 2,474 | 11.68 | 3 | +3 |
| | Country Party | 662 | 3.12 | 0 | New |
| | Independents | 514 | 2.43 | 1 | –3 |
| Total | Total | 21,185 | 100.00 | 30 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 25,832 | – | | |
| Source: Willson ||||||

### By constituency

* CP – Centre Party
* Lab – Rhodesia Labour Party
* PP – Progressive Party
* RP – Rhodesia Party
| Constituency Electorate and turnout | Candidate | Party | Votes |
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,138 (48.0%) | †James Cowden | RP | 626 |
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,138 (48.0%) | Donald MacGillivray | RP | 615 |
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,138 (48.0%) | †Francis Leslie Hadfield | PP | 442 |
| BULAWAYO CENTRAL Two members 2,138 (48.0%) | Gilbert Samuel Hough | PP | 368 |
| BULAWAYO NORTH Two members 1,915 (47.5%) | †Robert James Hudson | RP | 774 |
| BULAWAYO NORTH Two members 1,915 (47.5%) | †Allan Ross Welsh | RP | 711 |
| BULAWAYO NORTH Two members 1,915 (47.5%) | Ernest Richard Davies | PP | 334 |
| BULAWAYO SOUTH 1,110 (62.3%) | Harry Herbert Davies | Lab | 440 |
| BULAWAYO SOUTH 1,110 (62.3%) | George Johnson | RP | 252 |
| CHARTER 791 (62.5%) | Ernest Lucas Guest | RP | 283 |
| CHARTER 791 (62.5%) | †Charles Edward Gilfillan | PP | 211 |
| EASTERN 842 (67.1%) | †John Louis Martin | Ind | 344 |
| EASTERN 842 (67.1%) | †Ethel Tawse Jollie | RP | 221 |
| GATOOMA 900 (68.8%) | George Munro | RP | 440 |
| GATOOMA 900 (68.8%) | Sir Ernest William Sanders Montagu | PP | 260 |
| GATOOMA 900 (68.8%) | William Martin | Lab | 93 |
| GWANDA 671 (70.0%) | †George Mitchell | RP | 173 |
| GWANDA 671 (70.0%) | Herbert Stephen Henderson | Ind RP | 170 |
| GWANDA 671 (70.0%) | Daniel Judson | PP | 127 |
| GWELO 902 (68.2%) | †Max Danziger | RP | 412 |
| GWELO 902 (68.2%) | John William Watkinson | PP | 203 |
| HARTLEY 744 (58.7%) | Roger Edward Downes | PP | 250 |
| HARTLEY 744 (58.7%) | †Osmond Charteris Du Port | RP | 187 |
| INSIZA 736 (64.3%) | Stephen Martin Lanigan O'Keeffe | PP | 255 |
| INSIZA 736 (64.3%) | Joseph Ritchie Stewart | RP | 218 |
| INYATI 717 (59.8%) | Charles Spearman Jobling | RP | 252 |
| INYATI 717 (59.8%) | †Frederic Phillip Mennell | PP | 177 |
| LOMAGUNDI 881 (55.3%) | †James Murdoch Eaton | RP | 272 |
| LOMAGUNDI 881 (55.3%) | Thomas William Williamson | CP | 215 |
| MARANDELLAS 793 (63.8%) | Luke Lot Green | RP | 266 |
| MARANDELLAS 793 (63.8%) | Eric Arthur Nobbs | PP | 167 |
| MARANDELLAS 793 (63.8%) | John Mitchell Moubray | CP | 73 |
| MATOPO 749 (71.6%) | †Robert Alexander Fletcher | RP | 385 |
| MATOPO 749 (71.6%) | Edmund Gilchrist Wrightson | PP | 151 |
| MAZOE 775 (68.3%) | †John Wallace Downie | RP | 345 |
| MAZOE 775 (68.3%) | Milton Evan Cleveland | CP | 184 |
| QUE QUE 844 (70.6%) | †Arthur James Taylor | RP | 327 |
| QUE QUE 844 (70.6%) | Alexander Louis Wynand Koch Worsthorne | PP | 269 |
| RAYLTON 906 (64.6%) | Lawrence John Walter Keller | Lab | 306 |
| RAYLTON 906 (64.6%) | †Henry Robert Barbour | RP | 279 |
| SALISBURY DISTRICT 968 (61.2%) | †William Muter Leggate | RP | 268 |
| SALISBURY DISTRICT 968 (61.2%) | John Arnold Edmonds | CP | 190 |
| SALISBURY DISTRICT 968 (61.2%) | Edward Cuthbert Nangle | PP | 134 |
| SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,205 (64.0%) | †Godfrey Martin Huggins | RP | 821 |
| SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,205 (64.0%) | †Percival Donald Leslie Fynn | RP | 771 |
| SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,205 (64.0%) | †Frank William Frederick Johnson | PP | 627 |
| SALISBURY NORTH Two members 2,205 (64.0%) | Vernon Arthur Lewis | PP | 601 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | †Harry Bertin | PP | 639 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | Gordon Ross Milne | RP | 629 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | Henry Fulton | RP | 616 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | John William Dunlop | Lab | 600 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | Frederick Eyles | Lab | 505 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH Two members 2,743 (63.1%) | Walter Hill | PP | 473 |
| SELUKWE 806 (67.6%) | †Robert Dunipace Gilchrist | PP | 300 |
| SELUKWE 806 (67.6%) | James Baillie Macdonald | RP | 245 |
| SHAMVA 473 (76.5%) | Mark Douglas Claxton | RP | 259 |
| SHAMVA 473 (76.5%) | Trevor Fletcher | PP | 103 |
| UMTALI NORTH 707 (76.0%) | †Charles Eickhoff | RP | 292 |
| UMTALI NORTH 707 (76.0%) | Alexander Tulloch | PP | 137 |
| UMTALI NORTH 707 (76.0%) | William Harrison | Lab | 108 |
| UMTALI SOUTH 741 (71.9%) | Jonathan Hunter Malcolm | Lab | 253 |
| UMTALI SOUTH 741 (71.9%) | Oswald Trevor Baker | RP | 150 |
| UMTALI SOUTH 741 (71.9%) | Robert Chaloner Critchley Long | PP | 130 |
| VICTORIA 797 | †Howard Unwin Moffat | RP | unopposed |
| WANKIE 775 (55.6%) | †Alexander Robert Thomson | RP | 262 |
| WANKIE 775 (55.6%) | George Francis Scougal | Lab | 169 |

## Changes during the Assembly
### Mazoe

John Wallace Downie gave up his seat on 28 October 1930 on his appointment as High Commissioner of Southern Rhodesia in London, precipitating a byelection in his electoral district which was held on 5 December 1930.
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
| MAZOE | Edward Walter Lionel Noaks | Ind | 361 |
| MAZOE | Frank Smith | Reform Party | 98 |
| MAZOE | Cyril Allen | RP | 63 |

### Salisbury South

Due to the resignation of Gordon Ross Milne who was in ill health, a byelection in this electoral district was held on 13 March 1931.
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
| SALISBURY SOUTH | Jacob Hendrik Smit | Reform Party | 564 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH | Alexander Louis Wynand Koch Worsthorne | Lab | 526 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH | Guy Harcourt Peall | RP | 310 |
| SALISBURY SOUTH | Henry Fulton | PP | 168 |

### Gwelo

Max Danziger left the Rhodesia Party on 4 June 1931 and simultaneously decided to vacate his seat to test the opinion of his electors. The result of the election was:
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes |
| GWELO | Max Danziger | Ind | unopposed |

### Party changes

In October 1929 the Progressive Party merged with the Country Party to form the Reform Party.