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General elections were held in Fiji on 20 July 1940.[1]
Electoral system
The Legislative Council consisted of 32 members, including 16 'official' members who were civil servants, fifteen 'unofficial' members (five Europeans, five Fijians and five Indo-Fijians), and the Governor sitting as President of the Council.
For Europeans and Indo-Fijians, three of the five representatives were elected from single-member constituencies, with the other two appointed by the Governor. All five Fijian members were appointed from a list of ten candidates submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs.[2]
Voting for Europeans remained restricted to men aged 21 or over who had been born to European parents (or a European father and was able to read, speak and write English), who were British subjects and had been continuously resident in Fiji for 12 months, and who either owned at least £20 of freehold or leasehold property or had an annual income of at least £120.[2] For Indo-Fijians, eligibility was also restricted to men aged 21 or over. They had to be a British subject or from British India, have lived continuously in the Fiji for at least two years, be able to read or write in English, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Urdu, and for the previous six months, have either owned property with an annual value of five years, had a net annual cash income of at least £75, or held a Government or municipal licence worth at least £5 annually.[2]
In both ethnic categories, civil servants were barred from voting.[2]
Results
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European members | ||||
| Eastern | Harold Brockett Gibson | 95 | 41.5 | Re-elected |
| William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham | 62 | 27.1 | ||
| William Carlisle Baker | 56 | 24.5 | ||
| Patrick Costello | 16 | 7.0 | ||
| Northern and Western | Hugh Ragg | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| Southern | Alport Barker | 320 | 63.4 | Re-elected |
| Amie Ragg | 185 | 36.6 | ||
| Indo-Fijian members | ||||
| Eastern | J. B. Tularam | 127 | 42.5 | Re-elected |
| Jafar Khan | 92 | 30.8 | ||
| Sadhu Lal | 80 | 26.8 | ||
| Northern and Western | B. D. Lakshman | 1,010 | 69.3 | Elected |
| Sadanand Maharaj | 447 | 30.7 | ||
| Southern | Vishnu Deo | 783 | 68.1 | Re-elected |
| K. B. Singh | 366 | 31.9 | ||
| Source: Fiji Elections, Fiji Royal Gazette 1940 | ||||
Nominated members
| Europeans |
|---|
| Henry King Irving |
| John Trotter |
| Fijians |
| G.W. Lalabalavu |
| Lala Sukuna |
| George Toganivalu |
| George Tuisawau |
| Tiale Vuiyasawa |
| Indo-Fijians |
| Said Hasan |
| K. B. Singh |
| Source: Fiji Royal Gazette 1940 |
References
- ^ Councillors elected in Fiji Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1940, p6
- ^ a b c d 1940 Legislative Council Election Fiji Elections Archive
This page was last edited on 14 March 2023, at 16:41