1964 Southern Rhodesian independence referendum

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A referendum on independence was held in Southern Rhodesia on 5 November 1964. The question put to voters was, "Are you in favour of or against Southern Rhodesia obtaining independence on the basis of the 1961 Constitution of Southern Rhodesia?" The result was a landslide for the "yes" vote, which was the choice of over 90% of voters. Ian Smith called an indaba with tribe leaders to gauge support, resulting in universal support among the tribal leaders, but Britain did not consider this representative of the majority black population as the tribal leaders were in the pay of Ian Smith’s Government.[1] The following year, Ian Smith's government made a Unilateral Declaration of Independence, making the country a de facto independent state until returning to British colonial rule in 1979 following the Lancaster House Agreement. The British Government did not accept Southern Rhodesian independence as they did not view the referendum as representative of all of Southern Rhodesia.

Voter turnout was 61.9%.[2]

Results[]

Choice Votes %
For 58,176 90.51
Against 6,101 9.49
Invalid/blank votes 965 –
Total 65,242 100
Registered voters/turnout 105,444 61.87
Source: African Elections Database

References[]

  1. ^ "British Again Invite Rhodesian to London Independence Talks; Say Wilson Warning Against Unilateral Action is Not to be Taken as Ultimatum". The New York Times. 31 October 1964.
  2. ^ Elections in Zimbabwe African Elections Database
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