General elections were held in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to th ...

on 31 August 1977,31 August 1977 House of Assembly Election
African Elections Database the last general election in the country dominated by the white minority. Prime Minister

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

, who was conducting negotiations with moderate African nationalists, was forced into an early election by the defection of twelve MPs from his

Rhodesian Front The Rhodesian Front was a right-wing conservative political party in Southern Rhodesia, subsequently known as Rhodesia. It was the last ruling party of Southern Rhodesia prior to that country's unilateral declaration of independence, and the ru ...

party, which denied him the two-thirds majority of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gover ...

needed to change the constitution. In the event, the Front overwhelmed the breakaway Rhodesian Action Party and all other forces, once again winning every single seat in the 50 seats elected by those of European descent.

Electoral system

The electorate of

returned 66 members of the

House of Assembly of Rhodesia The Parliament of Rhodesia was the bicameral legislature in Rhodesia from 1970 to 1979. Several elections were held, last in 1977. Senate The upper chamber was called the Senate, and it had 23 members: ten White Rhodesians, ten African chiefs, ...

, in three different classes of seat: * European roll seats: 50 members were returned from single-member constituencies by voters who were either of European, Asian or mixed (Coloured) descent. * African roll seats: 8 members were returned from single-member constituencies by voters of African descent. * Tribal seats: 8 seats were returned by Tribal electoral colleges made up of the Chiefs of the Tribes. Both European and African rolls had a range of property qualifications. No change to boundaries or the qualification of voters was made compared to the 1974 election. File:Rhodesia1970a.png, Rural constituencies. File:Salisbury1970.png, Constituencies in Salisbury. File:Bulawayo1970.png, Constituencies in Bulawayo. File:RhodAfrican1970.png, African roll constituencies.

Results

European roll seats

African seats

Tribal seats

* HIGHVELD:

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

Bartholomew Augustine Mabika * KARIBA:

Peter Mhletshwa Nkomo * LOWVELD: Simeon Chengeta * MANICA:

Naboth Absalom Gandanzara * PAGATI:

Fani Mlingo * PIONEER: Benjamin Panga Mbuisa * TULI:

Zephaniah Maybin Bafanah Dube * ZAMBEZI: Mawire Patrick Bwanya

Subsequent by-elections

Pagati

Fani Mlingo died on 15 February 1978. On 31 March 1978, Joseph Jumo Bheka was returned unopposed to replace him. Bheka was a supporter of Bishop

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to ...

Lowveld

Simeon Chengeta died on 19 March 1978. On 19 July 1978, a by-election was held in Lowveld. John Adonia Hungwe defeated Simon Dzichaperanhamo Bhene.

Highlands North

A by-election was held in the Highlands North constituency on 21 July 1978 to replace Fergus Blackie, who had been appointed as a Judge and resigned on 15 May 1978. This by-election occurred after the internal settlement agreement, and the Rhodesian Front candidate was therefore opposed not only by the National Unifying Force (pressing for a full settlement with African nationalists) but by two right-wing candidates opposed to any deals: the Rhodesian Action Party and the Rhodesian Conservative Alliance.

Gwelo

Roger Hawkins resigned from the Assembly due to ill health on 30 November 1978, leading to a by-election in Gwelo on 30 January 1979.

Mazoe

George Rollo Hayman resigned on 27 December 1978, claiming that the power-sharing government could easily fall under the control of a terrorist group. He then resigned from the Assembly to seek re-election. This by-election, held on 6 February 1979, was the last election conducted before the advent of the new constitution.

Vacancy at dissolution

Donald Goldin (Wankie) died on 12 February 1979. The seat was not filled before Parliament was dissolved.

References

{{Zimbabwe elections Elections in Rhodesia

1977 in Rhodesia August 1977 events in Africa

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results