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]
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]
^ abc1947 Legislative Council Election Fiji Elections Archive
^Amendments to Fiji letters patent Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1947, p70
August 22, 2023
1947, fijian, general, election, general, elections, were, held, fiji, september, 1947, voting, took, place, northern, western, southern, constituencies, september, with, voting, eastern, constituency, carried, between, september, contents, electoral, system, . 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 Contents 1 Electoral system 2 Results 2 1 Nominated members 3 ReferencesElectoral system EditThe 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 EditConstituency Candidate Votes NotesEuropean membersEastern Fred Archibald 182 ElectedHarold Brockett Gibson 143 UnseatedNorthern and Western Maurice Scott 295 ElectedJohn Percy Bayly 183Informal votes 11 Southern Amie Ragg 369 Re electedAlport Barker 305Informal votes 5 Indo Fijian membersEastern James Madhavan 499 ElectedB M Gyaneshwar 350 UnseatedJ B Tularam 83Northern and Western A D Patel 1 972 Re electedChattur Singh 1 106Southern Vishnu Deo 1 056 Re electedAndrew Deoki 516Informal votes 21 Source Fiji ElectionsNominated members Edit EuropeansHugh RaggSydney Herbert WilsonFijiansEdward CakobauJoeli RavaiGeorge ToganivaluGeorge TuisawauTiale VuiyasawaIndo FijiansM S BukshAmi ChandraSource Fiji Elections Pacific Islands MonthlyReferences Edit 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1947 Fijian general election amp oldid 1144609069, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
