RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH VOTES IN ELECTION WHICH SWEPT HIS NATIONAL FRONT BACK INTO POWER.

Record ID: 328451

  • Title: RHODESIA: PRIME MINISTER IAN SMITH VOTES IN ELECTION WHICH SWEPT HIS NATIONAL FRONT BACK INTO POWER.
  • Date: 1st August 1974
  • Summary: 1. GV Street secene in Salisbury 0.08 2. SV Election newspaper billboards (2 shots) 0.19 3. LV Smith arriving with family at polling booth in Community Memorial Hall 0.27 4. SV Mr. Smith talks to supporters (3 shots) 0.48 5. SCU Newsmen 0.51 6. SCU PAN Mr. Smith enters hall 1.00 7. SV INT Mr. Smith walks to cast vote 1.10 Initials BB/0200 CG/BH/BB/0130 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 16th August 1974 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SALISBURY, RHODESIA
  • Country: Zimbabwe
  • Reuters ID: LVA7CFNYHFL6U5BAZTX4AWPEIIL1
  • Story Text: The Rhodesian National Front of Prime Minister Ian Smith won all fifty white seats at stake in Tuesday's (30 July) election and, in so doing, dealt a crushing blow to its main electoral opponent, the more moderate Rhodesia Party.

    Mr. Smith cast his vote in the capital, Salisbury. Support for his part was widespread among the minority white population, demonstrating that the vast majority of the country's 250,000 whites agree with him that there should be no major concessions to African demands for increased parliamentary representation leading to black majority rule.

    In the eight African seats up for direct election at the poll, it was the opponents of the Government who triumphed. The other eight African seats will be filled by candidates selected by tribal colleges.

    As soon as the election results were known, the General-Secretary of Rhodesia's African National Council, Dr. Gordon Chavunduka, re-affirmed that the ANC will not attend a round-table constitutional conference planned by the Government. Dr. Chavunduka said Mr. Smith's landslide victory at the elections had not changed the attitude of the ANC on the constitutional issue.

    The deadlock over the political role of blacks in Rhodesia dates back to 1965 when Mr. Smith's administration unilaterally declared the country independent of Britain. The British Government now says it wants to see blacks and whites in Rhodesia reach a constitutional agreement before it will come to terms with the Salisbury regime.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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