Langlaagte (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)

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 Transvaal Colony, and its predecessor the South African Republic, the vote was restricted to white men, and as such, elections in the Transvaal 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.^[1]

Langlaagte was a largely working-class constituency, and followed the general trend of such areas across South Africa's major cities. In its early years, it was a marginal seat, with John Christie of the Labour Party and William Bawden of the South African Party fighting a number of spirited contests. Bawden went on to hold the seat throughout the 1930s, switching to the United Party on that party's formation, and the UP held it until 1953, at which point it fell to the governing National Party. Over time it became more and more of a safe seat for the NP, which held it until the end of apartheid in spite of challenges from the Conservative Party in its later years.