1944 Northern Rhodesian general election

{{Politics of Zambia}}

General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 29 September 1944."News Items in Brief", East Africa and Rhodesia, 14 September 1944, p59

Electoral system

The eight elected members of the Legislative Council were elected from eight single-member constituencies.Official Verbatim Report of the Debates of the Fifth Session (Resumed) of the Ninth Legislative Council, Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia, p22 There were a total of 6,527 registered voters.

class=wikitable

!Constituency

!Settlements

!Registered voters

Broken HillBroken Hill, Mkushi, Serenjealign=right|950
{{nowrap|Livingstone and Western}}Balovale, Kalabo, Livingstone, Mankoya, MonguLealui, Senanga, Seshekealign=right|469
LuanshyaLuanshya, Mufuliraalign=right|1,497
MidlandBroken Hill (South), Lusaka, Mumbwaalign=right|648
NdolaFort Rosebery, Kasempa, Kawambwa, Mwinilunga, Ndolaalign=right|656
NkanaChingola, Nkanaalign=right|1,771
North-EasternAbercorn, Chinsali, Fort Jameson, Isoka, Kasama, Lundazi, Luwingu, Mpika, Mporokoso, Petaukealign=right|270
SouthernMazabuka, Namwalaalign=right|266
colspan=3|Source: Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia

Campaign

All constituencies were contested by more than one candidate with the exception of Broken Hill, where Labour Party leader Roy Welensky was returned unopposed."N. Rhodesian General Election: Mr. Roy Welensky Returned Unopposed", East African and Rhodesia, 7 September 1944, p34

The incumbent members for Livingstone and Western (Francis Sinclair), Luanshya (Michael McGann) and Nkana (Martin Visagie) did not run for re-election.

Results

class=wikitable

!Constituency

!Candidate

!Party

!Votes

!%

!Notes

Broken HillRoy WelenskyLabour Partycolspan=2 align=center|UnopposedRe-elected
rowspan=2|{{nowrap|Livingstone and Western}}Hedley PriestLabour Partyalign=right|223align=right|69.91Elected
Robert Hood OrrIndependent Labouralign=right|96align=right|30.09
rowspan=2|LuanshyaJames MorrisIndependentalign=right|406align=right|50.50Elected
Francis Edward John Patrick MurrayLabour Partyalign=right|398align=right|49.50
rowspan=3|MidlandHugh Kennedy McKeeIndependentalign=right|212align=right|40.85Re-elected
Marais von EedenIndependentalign=right|183align=right|35.26
Edwin Bernard EvansLabour Partyalign=right|124align=right|23.89
rowspan=2|NdolaGodfrey PelletierIndependentalign=right|223align=right|50.57Re-elected
Charles AllanLabour Partyalign=right|218align=right|49.43
rowspan=2|NkanaBrian GoodwinIndependent Labouralign=right|573align=right|55.96Elected
James Knock WykerdLabour Partyalign=right|451align=right|44.04
rowspan=2|North-EasternThomas Spurgeon Pagealign=right|94align=right|51.93Re-elected
Grant Bruce RobertsonIndependentalign=right|87align=right|48.07
rowspan=2|SouthernRichard Ernest CampbellIndependentalign=right|95align=right|51.35Re-elected
John Milton Walkeralign=right|90align=right|48.65
colspan=6|Source: East Africa and Rhodesia"Three New Members in N. Rhodesian Council: Four Members Re-elected by Narrow Majorities", East Africa and Rhodesia, 5 October 1944, pp107–108

Aftermath

Following the elections, a petition was sent to the Governor requesting the annulment of the result in Ndola. An enquiry by the Acting Chief Justice found that seven ballots had been improperly rejected, meaning that the result would have been a tie."New Election for Ndola Seat: Voting Papers Were Improperly Rejected", East African and Rhodesia, 26 October 1944, p188 A by-election was held on 4 December,"Ndola Election", East Africa and Rhodesia, 23 November 1944, p273 in which the original winner Godfrey Pelletier opted not to run."Ndola Election", East Africa and Rhodesia, 9 November 1944, p230 Harold Williams was elected in his place."Ndola's New M.L.C.", East Africa and Rhodesia, 11 January 1945, p489

See also

References