Bethlehem (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

Bethlehem was a constituency in the Orange Free State Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994. Named after the town of Bethlehem, the seat covered a large rural area in the east of the province, bordering Natal as well as Lesotho. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly.

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. In the Orange River Colony, and its predecessor the Orange Free State, the vote was restricted to white men, and as such, elections in the Orange Free State Province were held on a whites-only franchise from the beginning. The franchise was also restricted by property and education qualifications until the 1933 general election, following the passage of the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931. From then on, the franchise was given to all white citizens aged 21 or over. Non-whites remained disenfranchised until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.

History

Bethlehem, like most of the Orange Free State, was a highly conservative seat throughout its existence and had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate. Its first MP, Abraham Fischer, was the leader of the provincial Orangia Unie party (which later became the Free State branch of the South African Party) and had served as Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony prior to unification.