City of Wellington by-election, 1892

City of Wellington by-election, 1892

15 January 1892

Candidate William McLean Francis Bell Party Liberal Independent Popular vote 3,388 3,245

MP before election Kennedy Macdonald Liberal Elected MP William McLean Liberal

The City of Wellington by-election of 1892 was a by-election held on 15 January 1892 during the 11th New Zealand Parliament in the urban seat of the City of Wellington.

The contest was won by William McLean of the Liberal Party. McLean narrowly beat Francis Bell by 3,388 votes to 3,245.^[1]

The election was marred by a scandal over double voting. Over twenty cases of people casting votes more than once were discovered in a subsequent investigation.^[2] In his congratulatory speech to McLean, Prime Minister John Ballance also made reference to the scandal, alleging that the Tory Party had brought in outsiders to vote who had long ceased to be residents in the electorate.^[3]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

City of Wellington by-election, 1892[1][4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William McLean	3,388	51.08	+30.97
	Opposition	Francis Bell	3,245	48.92	+5.31
Majority			143	2.16	-1.32
Turnout			6,633	75.50	+15.49
Registered electors			8,786

McLean held the seat until the 1893 general election, when he was defeated.^[5] Bell would become Prime Minister more than three decades later.^[6]

References

1. "New Zealand". The Marlborough Express. XXVIII (17). 21 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
2. "Dual Voting". Wairarapa Daily Times XIII (4016). 19 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
3. "Speech by the Premier". Auckland Star. XXIII (18). 22 January 1892. p. 4. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
4. "Wellington City Election". Wanganui Herald XXVI (7620). 16 January 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
5. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 217. OCLC 154283103.
6. Gardner, William James. "Bell, Francis Henry Dillon". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 September 2012.