1974 South African general election

1974 South African general election

← 1970 24 April 1974 1977 →
169 of the 171 seats in the House of Assembly 86 seats needed for a majority
Registered	2,232,623
Turnout	51.87% ( 22.48pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader B. J. Vorster De Villiers Graaff Colin Eglin Party National United Progressive Last election 54.89%, 118 seats 36.94%, 47 seats 3.43%, 1 seat Seats won 122 41 6 Seat change 4 6 5 Popular vote 638,424 363,478 72,479 Percentage 56.14% 31.96% 6.37% Swing 1.25pp 4.98pp 2.94pp
Results by province
Prime Minister before election B. J. Vorster National Elected Prime Minister B. J. Vorster National

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General elections were held in South Africa on 24 April 1974. They were called one year earlier than scheduled by Prime Minister B. J. Vorster on 4 February. The House of Assembly was increased from 166 to 171 members. The election was once again won by the National Party, with a slightly increased parliamentary majority.

The Progressive Party made a major advance, however. In addition to Helen Suzman, re-elected for Houghton, five other members won seats including the party leader Colin Eglin. A seventh member of the caucus was elected at a by-election soon after. The United Party won 41 seats. The election also saw Harry Schwarz, leader of the United Party in the Transvaal, enter Parliament. Schwartz would soon lead a break away from the United Party and would become one of the Apartheid's more prominent opponents in Parliament, first forming the Reform Party and then joining with the Progressive Party to form the Progressive Reform Party in 1975, under the leadership of Colin Eglin.