1898 Cape Colony parliamentary election

Elections to the Parliament of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope were held in 1898. The Legislative Council was elected on 16 March and the House of Assembly between 9 August and 5 September. These were the first elections contested on a more-or-less two-party basis after the emergence of responsible government in 1872. Party divisions were still hazy at the time of the elections, but the result was a narrow victory for opponents of the Progressive Party of Cecil Rhodes, despite the Progressives winning the popular vote. Incumbent Prime Minister Gordon Sprigg had become aligned with the nascent Progressive party, and was succeeded by William Philip Schreiner, an Independent supported by the Afrikaner Bond, upon the inauguration of the new House of Assembly.[1]

1898 Cape Colony parliamentary election

16 March 1898 (Council) 9 August–5 September 1898 (House)
All 79 seats in the House of Assembly 40 seats needed for a Majority All 23 Seats in the Legislative Council 12 seats needed for a majority
Leader W. P. Schreiner Cecil Rhodes Party Independent - Afrikaner Bond Progressive Leader's seat Malmesbury Barkly West, Namaqualand (vacated) Seats won 40 (House) 9 (Council) 38 (House) 14 (Council) Popular vote 52,388 73,097 Percentage 38.0% 53.1%
Prime Minister before election Gordon Sprigg Independent Progressive Elected Prime Minister W. P. Schreiner Independent

Electoral System

Twenty-three members of the Legislative Council were elected from nine constituencies termed "provinces," seven of which elected three members each by cumulative voting, and the remaining two provinces one member each. The House of Assembly was composed of 79 members elected from 39 electoral divisions which elected between one and four members each, in which each voter had as many votes as there were candidates to be elected, but was not permitted to cast them cumulatively, as for the Legislative Council.[1]

Results

House of Assembly

The fact that voters in different constituencies could cast varying numbers of votes, and that votes were not counted where any candidates ran unopposed, means that raw popular vote totals are a poor estimate of party support. Alan John Charrington Smith's analysis of voting patterns estimated that support was approximately 43,243 voters (57.35%) for the Progressive party and 32,165 (42.65%) for its opponents.[1] The table below lists raw vote totals.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Independent–Afrikaner Bond Alliance	52,388	38.04	40
	Progressive Party	73,097	53.08	38
	Independents	12,232	8.88	1
Total		137,717	100	79

Legislative Council

The Progressive candidate in Griqualand West was elected unopposed. All other provinces had more candidates than seats to fill.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Progressive Party	98,530	55.72	14
	Independent–Afrikaner Bond Alliance	70,214	39.70	9
	Independents	8,096	4.58	0
Total		176,840	100	23

References

1. John Charrington Smith, Alan (1980). General Elections in the Cape Colony: 1898-1908 (PDF). University of Cape Town. pp. 48, 49, 112.