In 1883 he was a candidate in the Transvaal presidential election, but received only 1,171 votes as against 3,431 cast for Kruger. After losing to Kruger again in the 1888 elections, he ran against Kruger for a third time in the 1893 elections, standing as the representative of the comparatively progressive section of the Boers, who wished in some measure to redress the grievances of the Uitlander population which had grown up on the Rand. The poll (though there is good reason for believing that the voting lists had been manipulated by Kruger's agents) was declared to have resulted in 7911 votes being cast for Kruger and 7246 for Joubert. After a protest Joubert acquiesced to Kruger's continued presidency.