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General elections were held in Fiji in September 1947. Voting took place in the Northern and Western and Southern constituencies on 20 September, with voting in the Eastern constituency carried out between 15 and 22 September.[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]
The ban on civil servants voting in elections was lifted earlier in 1947, although civil servants remained ineligible to run for office.[3] Nominations for candidates closed on 25 August.[1]
Results
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European members | ||||
| Eastern | Fred Archibald | 182 | Elected | |
| Harold Brockett Gibson | 143 | Unseated | ||
| Northern and Western | Maurice Scott | 295 | Elected | |
| John Percy Bayly | 183 | |||
| Informal votes | 11 | – | ||
| Southern | Amie Ragg | 369 | Re-elected | |
| Alport Barker | 305 | |||
| Informal votes | 5 | – | ||
| Indo-Fijian members | ||||
| Eastern | James Madhavan | 499 | Elected | |
| B. M. Gyaneshwar | 350 | Unseated | ||
| J. B. Tularam | 83 | |||
| Northern and Western | A. D. Patel | 1,972 | Re-elected | |
| Chattur Singh | 1,106 | |||
| Southern | Vishnu Deo | 1,056 | Re-elected | |
| Andrew Deoki | 516 | |||
| Informal votes | 21 | – | ||
| Source: Fiji Elections | ||||
Nominated members
| Europeans |
|---|
| Hugh Ragg |
| Sydney Herbert Wilson |
| Fijians |
| Edward Cakobau |
| Joeli Ravai |
| George Toganivalu |
| George Tuisawau |
| Tiale Vuiyasawa |
| Indo-Fijians |
| M. S. Buksh |
| Ami Chandra |
| Source: Fiji Elections, Pacific Islands Monthly |
Aftermath
Ravai resigned from the Legislative Council in June 1950 when he left Fiji, and was replaced by Etuate Mataitini.[4]
References
- ^ a b Fiji Elections Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1947, p7
- ^ a b c 1947 Legislative Council Election Fiji Elections Archive
- ^ Amendments to Fiji letters patent Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1947, p70
- ^ Fiji Royal Gazette. 1950. p. 151.
This page was last edited on 28 February 2024, at 22:22