# Vasco (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Vasco was a constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa, which existed from 1943 to 1994. It covered various areas of Cape Town’s northern suburbs, centred on its namesake suburb of Vasco. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Cape Provincial Council.

## Franchise notes

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. The Cape Colony had implemented a "colour-blind" franchise known as the Cape Qualified Franchise, which included all adult literate men owning more than £75 worth of property (controversially raised from £25 in 1892), and this initially remained in effect after the colony became the Cape Province. As of 1908, 22,784 out of 152,221 electors in the Cape Colony were "Native or Coloured". Eligibility to serve in Parliament and the Provincial Council, however, was restricted to whites from 1910 onward.
The first challenge to the Cape Qualified Franchise came with the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931, which extended the vote to women and removed property qualifications for the white population only – non-white voters remained subject to the earlier restrictions. In 1936, the Representation of Natives Act removed all black voters from the common electoral roll and introduced three "Native Representative Members", white MPs elected by the black voters of the province and meant to represent their interests in particular. A similar provision was made for Coloured voters with the Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951, and although this law was challenged by the courts, it went into effect in time for the 1958 general election, which was thus held with all-white voter rolls for the first time in South African history. The all-white franchise would continue until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.

## History

Vasco was first created in 1943, replacing the abolished Maitland constituency, and for most of its history was centred on its namesake suburb and neighbouring Goodwood. Like the rest of the Northern Suburbs, its electorate was largely working-class and Afrikaans-speaking. In its first two elections, it returned cabinet minister James Mushet for the United Party, but in 1953 it was taken by the National Party, which would hold it for the remainder of its existence. Its first National MP, cabinet minister Karl Bremer, died shortly after his election to the seat, necessitating a by-election which was won by the NP once again. After another by-election in 1962, it was briefly represented by Frank Waring, one of the first native English-speaking NP cabinet ministers. Its last MP was J. H. Heyns, who was first elected unopposed in 1977, and faced mainly Conservative Party opposition for the seat.

## Members

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1943 | J. W. Mushet | United |
| 1948 | J. W. Mushet | United |
| 1953 | Karl Bremer | National |
| 1953 by | Albertus van Rhyn | National |
| 1958 | C. V. de Villiers | National |
| 1961 | C. V. de Villiers | National |
| 1962 by | Frank Waring | National |
| 1966 | P. H. Meyer | National |
| 1970 | P. H. Meyer | National |
| 1974 | P. H. Meyer | National |
| 1977 | J. H. Heyns | National |
| 1981 | J. H. Heyns | National |
| 1987 | J. H. Heyns | National |
| 1989 | J. H. Heyns | National |
| 1994 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |