Cape Qualified Franchise

The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections were applied equally to all men, regardless of race. This local system of multi-racial suffrage was later gradually restricted, and eventually abolished, under various National Party and United Party governments. In 1930 white women were enfranchised, and in 1931 property qualifications for white voters were removed. In 1936 black voters were then removed from the common voters' rolls and allowed only to elect separate members in 1936, and subsequently denied all representation in the House of Assembly in 1960. Coloured voters similarly followed in 1958 and 1970, respectively. The Cape Qualified Franchise first appeared in 1853, when the Cape Colony received representative government and elected its first parliament. This was done without regard to race, and a non-racial voters roll became part of the Cape's 1853 Constitution. There were a range of motivations for the creation of this early non-racial political system. Many powerful members of the Cape's political elite in the 1850s, leaders such as John Fairbairn, Saul Solomon, John Molteno and William Porter, genuinely seemed to believe that it was the only fair way to run a society, and that racial distinctions counted as unjust discrimination. In 1838, it had already been ruled in the Cape Colony that the law was not to discriminate on the basis of race or colour. On the other hand, there was an additional pragmatic motivation, in that enfranchising the non-white population was seen as a way to bring peace to the Cape's frontier and social harmony to its cities. As such, political inclusiveness was also seen as a way of pre-empting and forestalling black resistance in the future. When queried by worried white voters on the issue of black citizens voting, William Porter, the Cape attorney-general famously responded: Why should you fear the exercise of franchise? This is a delicate question but it must be touched upon.