Tembuland (House of Assembly of South Africa constituency)
Tembuland (Afrikaans: Temboeland) was a rural constituency in the Cape Province of South Africa from 1910 to 1948. It covered the area between the Mthatha and Great Kei rivers in the Eastern Cape, the Thembu homeland after whom it was named. It elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Cape Provincial Council. In 1943 the electorate was 7,681.
When the Union was formed in 1910, voting followed the Cape Qualified Franchise, a whites‑only system for Parliament, despite a large non‑white population. Over time the franchise changed: women gained the vote in 1930, but whites kept property qualifications until 1931; in 1936 black voters were removed from the common roll and three Native Representative Members were created; separate representation for Coloured voters followed in 1951, with all-white rolls for elections from 1958.
The seat was usually held by pro‑British parties—the Unionists, then the South African Party, and later the United Party. The National Party contested it only once, in 1915. The last Member of the House of Assembly for Tembuland was A. O. B. Payn of the United Party. In 1948 it merged with neighbouring Griqualand East to form Transkeian Territories, which remained a strong UP area.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:00 (CET).