1944 Northern Rhodesian general election

General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 29 September 1944.[1]

Electoral system

The eight elected members of the Legislative Council were elected from eight single-member constituencies.[2] There were a total of 6,527 registered voters.[2]

Constituency	Settlements	Registered voters
Broken Hill	Broken Hill, Mkushi, Serenje	950
Livingstone and Western	Balovale, Kalabo, Livingstone, Mankoya, Mongu–Lealui, Senanga, Sesheke	469
Luanshya	Luanshya, Mufulira	1,497
Midland	Broken Hill (South), Lusaka, Mumbwa	648
Ndola	Fort Rosebery, Kasempa, Kawambwa, Mwinilunga, Ndola	656
Nkana	Chingola, Nkana	1,771
North-Eastern	Abercorn, Chinsali, Fort Jameson, Isoka, Kasama, Lundazi, Luwingu, Mpika, Mporokoso, Petauke	270
Southern	Mazabuka, Namwala	266
Source: Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia[2]

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.[3]

The incumbent members for Livingstone and Western (Francis Sinclair), Luanshya (Michael McGann) and Nkana (Martin Visagie) did not run for re-election.[3]

Results

Constituency	Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Notes
Broken Hill	Roy Welensky	Labour Party	Unopposed		Re-elected
Livingstone and Western	Hedley Priest	Labour Party	223	69.91	Elected
	Robert Hood Orr	Independent Labour	96	30.09
Luanshya	James Morris	Independent	406	50.50	Elected
	Francis Edward John Patrick Murray	Labour Party	398	49.50
Midland	Hugh Kennedy McKee	Independent	212	40.85	Re-elected
	Marais von Eeden	Independent	183	35.26
	Edwin Bernard Evans	Labour Party	124	23.89
Ndola	Godfrey Pelletier	Independent	223	50.57	Re-elected
	Charles Allan	Labour Party	218	49.43
Nkana	Brian Goodwin	Independent Labour	573	55.96	Elected
	James Knock Wykerd	Labour Party	451	44.04
North-Eastern	Thomas Spurgeon Page		94	51.93	Re-elected
	Grant Bruce Robertson	Independent	87	48.07
Southern	Richard Ernest Campbell	Independent	95	51.35	Re-elected
	John Milton Walker		90	48.65
Source: East Africa and Rhodesia[4]

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.[5] A by-election was held on 4 December,[6] in which the original winner Godfrey Pelletier opted not to run.[7] Harold Williams was elected in his place.[8]

See also

• List of members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia (1944–48)

References

1. "News Items in Brief", East Africa and Rhodesia, 14 September 1944, p59
2. Official Verbatim Report of the Debates of the Fifth Session (Resumed) of the Ninth Legislative Council, Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia, p22
3. "N. Rhodesian General Election: Mr. Roy Welensky Returned Unopposed", East African and Rhodesia, 7 September 1944, p34
4. "Three New Members in N. Rhodesian Council: Four Members Re-elected by Narrow Majorities", East Africa and Rhodesia, 5 October 1944, pp107–108
5. "New Election for Ndola Seat: Voting Papers Were Improperly Rejected", East African and Rhodesia, 26 October 1944, p188
6. "Ndola Election", East Africa and Rhodesia, 23 November 1944, p273
7. "Ndola Election", East Africa and Rhodesia, 9 November 1944, p230
8. "Ndola's New M.L.C.", East Africa and Rhodesia, 11 January 1945, p489