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The 'South African general election of 1948' was held on the May 26, 1948 and saw Herenigde Nasionale Party leader DF Malan call for the prohibition of mixed marriages, for the banning of black trade unions and for stricter enforcement of job reservation. Running on this platform of apartheid, as it was termed for the first time, Malan and his party benefited from the weight given to rural electorates, defeating Smuts and his United Party. Smuts even lost his own seat of Standerton.
The Herenigde Nasionale Party and its coalition partner, the Afrikaner Party, won seventy-nine seats against the seventy-four of their United and Labour Party opponents, although the Herenigde Nasionale Party had received 140,000 less of the total votes cast than their opponents. The Herenigde Nasionale Party consequently became the government, renamed itself the National Party and ruled South Africa until 1994.

'Party'	'Seats'
Herenigde Nasionale Party	70
United Party	65
Afrikaner Party	9
Labour Party	6
Independents	3
'TOTAL'	'153'