Southern Rhodesian general election, 1939

1934 ←

14 April 1939 (1939-04-14)

→ 1946

All 30 seats to the Legislative Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority

Turnout	76.7%
	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Godfrey Huggins	Harry Davies
Party	United	Labour	Reform
Leader's seat	Salisbury North	Hillside
Last election	24 seats, 61.9%	5 seats, 26.9%	1 seat, 11.2%
Seats before	24	5	1
Seats won	23	7	0
Seat change	1	2	1
Popular vote	11,161	7,353	2,773
Percentage	50.4%	33.2%	12.5%
Swing	11.5	6.3%	1.3%

Prime Minister before election

Godfrey Huggins
United Party

Elected Prime Minister

Godfrey Huggins
United Party

The Southern Rhodesia general election of 14 April 1939 was the fifth election since the colony of Southern Rhodesia was granted self-government. Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins' United Party government were re-elected in a landslide. The election was called slightly earlier than the deadline as Huggins feared the German invasion of Czechoslovakia would lead to European War.

In 1937, a new Electoral Act was passed. The franchise was extended slightly to those who were not British subjects but who had been in active wartime service in the armed forces. Electors were also required to have lived for three months in their electoral districts. The requirement for qualifying for the vote on the basis of receiving salary or wages of £100 per annum was extended also to people with income of £100 per annum, a change which principally benefited those who had investment income but few assets. Voters were also no longer required to demonstrate proficiency in English through a dictation test. The postal vote, which had been introduced in 1928, was extended in 1937 to all voters living more than 25 miles away from the nearest polling station. Finally, those who had drawn government rations were disenfranchised.

A boundary revision in 1938 enabled the elimination of the four remaining double-member electoral districts as the Colony was split into 30 single-member districts.

Electorate: 28,894 (in contested seats, 28,032) Turnout: 76.7%

Sir Percival Fynn died on 25 April 1940. Owing to the war, normal party politics had been suspended and a joint selection conference including members of both the United Party and the Rhodesia Labour Party was included. Four candidates stood for the selection: Cecil Douglas Dryden (United Party), Mrs. Gladys Maasdorp (Rhodesia Labour Party), Arthur William Redfern (Independent) and O.P. Wheeler (Independent). Redfern was selected and returned unopposed on 26 June 1940.

Edgar Whitehead resigned from the Assembly on 24 June 1940. A byelection was held to replace him on 27 August 1940.

Hugh Volant Wheeler resigned on 30 June 1940. A byelection was held in his constituency on 27 August 1940.

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Wikipedia