Northern Rhodesian general election, 1954

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General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 19 February 1954.[1] The result was a victory for the Federal Party, which won 10 of the 12 elected European seats in the Legislative Council.[2]

Campaign

Although Geoffrey Beckett, leader of the elected members in the Legislative Council, had called for the elections to be fought on a non-party basis, the Federal Party voted to contest the elections at a congress held on 6 January.[1] Beckett was prevented from contesting the elections after his nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer after he failed to return his declaration form in time.[1] In Livingstone the local Federal Party selected Llewellyn Oxenham as its candidate, but the party headquarters refused to ratify his nomination, instead nominating Harry Thom, who it was widely thought would stand down if he was elected to allow Beckett to be stand in a by-election.[1] The Ndola branch's selection of its candidate being overruled by the party executive after it was claimed new members had been enrolled and votes had been solicited in the bar of the local railway club where the vote took place.[1]

The Confederate Party opted not to contest the elections, although some members running as independents.[1]

Results

In mining towns Federal Party candidates defeated independents backed by the European Mineworkers Union and the European Salaried Staff Association. The only two seats in which they were defeated were the Midlands constituency near Lusaka (won by John Gaunt) and Livingstone, where Frank Derby won by 11 votes after the Federal Party vote was split between Oxenham and Thom.[3][2] Both Derby and Gaunt were members of the Confederate Party. Voter turnout was between 70 and 80% in the mining areas, but lower in other constituencies,[2] and around 60% overall.[4]

Party Votes % Seats
Federal Party4,54954.3110
Independents[a]3,82745.692
Total8,37610012
Source: East Africa and Rhodesia[4]

a The unofficial Federal Party candidate in Livingstone was counted as an independent.

By constituency

Constituency Candidate Party Votes % Notes
Broken HillHerbert RobertsFederal Party61982.8Elected
William KirkwoodIndependent12917.2
ChingolaWilliam Gray DunlopFederal Party32556.9Elected
G D CraneIndependent24643.1
EasternReuben KidsonFederal Party17554.0Elected
W B McGeeIndependent14946.0
LivingstoneFrank DerbyIndependent24834.8Elected
Harry ThomFederal Party23733.3
Llewellyn OxenhamFederal Party (unofficial)22731.9
LuanshyaRodney MalcomsonFederal Party46344.7Elected
J F PurvisIndependent43041.5
A E HellerIndependent14313.8
LusakaErnest SergeantFederal Party61548.1Elected
Nan StaplesIndependent53141.5
Richard SampsonIndependent13210.3
MidlandJohn GauntIndependent22155.9Elected
Brian GoodwinFederal Party17444.1
MufuliraL TuckerFederal Party48348.1Elected
Alexander StephensIndependent41641.4
A E BeechIndependent10610.5
NdolaW F RendellFederal Party69070.4Elected
Margaret SmithIndependent29029.6
NkanaJames BothaFederal Party76857.9Elected
A B HunterIndependent55942.1
NorthernHarold WatmoreFederal PartyUnopposedElected
South-WesternWilliam Harris WrothFederal PartyUnopposedElected
Source: East Africa and Rhodesia[4]

Aftermath

On 13 January four African members (Robinson Mwake Nabulyato from Southern Province, Safeli Hannock Chileshe from Central Province, Paskale Sokota from Western Province and Lakement Harvey Ngaundu from Northern Province) had been nominated for membership of the Assembly by the Northern Rhodesian African Representative Council from a field of 14 candidates.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mr. G. B. Beckett's Nomination Invalid" East Africa and Rhodesia, 28 January 1954, p678
  2. 1 2 3 "Federal Party Success In N. Rhodesia: Mining Area Victories", The Times, 19 February 1954, p7, Issue 52860
  3. ↑ "N. Rhodesian Voting Analysed Federal Party's Hold", The Times, 20 February 1954, p5, Issue 52861
  4. 1 2 3 "Federal Party Wins in N. Rhodesia", East Africa and Rhodesia, 25 February 1954, p797
  5. ↑ "N. Rhodesian Changes: Unofficial Members' Responsibilities", The Times, 15 January 2011, p7, Issue 52830
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