1948 South African general election

General elections were held in South Africa on 26 May 1948. They represented a major turning point in the country's history, as despite receiving just under half of the votes cast, the United Party and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts, were ousted by the Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) led by D. F. Malan, a Dutch Reformed cleric.

Due to a racially segregated election system and restrictive franchise requirements, the electorate consisted almost exclusively of white people (who were roughly 20% of the population). Very few Colored people and of Asian descent were allowed to vote in this election. Indigenous Africans had been banned altogether since the late 1930s, with the limited number of Indigenous Africans meeting electoral qualifications voting for seven "own" white MPs separately. During the election campaign, both the UP and the HNP formed coalitions with smaller parties. The UP was aligned with the left-leaning Labour Party, while the Afrikaner Party sought to advance Afrikaner rights by allying with the HNP.

The HNP capitalised on the fears of many White South Africans who felt threatened by black political aspirations, pledging to enforce strict racial segregation in all areas of life. The party called this system "apartheid" (meaning "apartness" or "separation") and promised safety and security from supposed black-on-white crime. In contrast, the United Party offered only vague ideas of gradual racial integration. Widespread white dissatisfaction with post-war domestic and economic conditions, the HNP's stronger organisation, and electoral malapportionment that favoured rural areas where the HNP enjoyed greater support, all contributed to the UP's electoral difficulties.

The elections marked the start of 46 years of National Party (NP) rule in South Africa, leading to the formal introduction of apartheid and the gradual development of a herrenvolk democracy that persisted until the 1994 election.