 | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 7,959 (84.55%) | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
The Dunedin Central by-election of 1915 was a by-election during the 19th New Zealand Parliament held on 3 February in the Dunedin Central electorate. The by-election was sparked by the resignation of the incumbent, Charles Statham, [1] after irregularities in the counting of the vote during the 1914 general election turned a 10-vote lead for his competitor Jim Munro into a 12-vote loss. There were only two nominees.
On election night 1914 Jim Munro had a provisional lead of one vote in Dunedin Central. Due to the closeness of the polling there were several re-counts of the ballots which took many days. To general surprise the final magisterial re-count resulted in the seat being awarded to Charles Statham by a 12 vote margin. It was soon revealed however that this was due to a "careless" polling clerk scribbling notes and numbers on ballot papers (rather than counterfoil). All affected ballot papers just happened to be votes for Munro and were thus declared void. If included the 22 disqualified votes would have resulted in a 10 vote final victory for Munro. [2]
Under the circumstances Statham felt honour bound to resign the seat, though he was in no way obligated to do so. He did and thereby triggered a by-election. The Reform government had a bare minimum majority and therefore much was at stake. As a result the Liberal Party did not contest the election and its leader Sir Joseph Ward actively toured the electorate to encourage the electors to vote for Munro. In the event of a Labour victory it was conceivable for Ward to form a minority government with Labour support. [2]
The following table gives the election results:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Charles Statham | 4,033 | 50.67 | +0.59 | |
| United Labour | Jim Munro | 3,926 | 49.33 | -0.62 | |
| Informal votes | 11 | 0.13 | -2.53 | ||
| Majority | 107 | 1.34 | +1.18 | ||
| Turnout | 7,959 | 84.55 | +2.97 | ||
| Registered electors | 9,413 | ||||
Following table showcases the detailed results by locality by ballot location:
| Locality | Statham (Reform) | Munro (ULP) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Baptist Hall | 200 | 48.54 | 212 | 51.46 |
| Berwick's Store | 192 | 55.98 | 151 | 44.02 |
| Caversham | 153 | 40.58 | 224 | 59.42 |
| Council Chambers | 630 | 59.15 | 435 | 40.85 |
| Green Island Church | 66 | 33.84 | 129 | 51.16 |
| High Street School | 191 | 79.91 | 48 | 20.09 |
| Kirkland Hall | 256 | 39.26 | 396 | 64.64 |
| Methodist Church | 146 | 60.08 | 97 | 39.92 |
| Odd Fellows' Hall | 150 | 26.64 | 413 | 73.35 |
| Old Council Chambers | 152 | 51.17 | 145 | 48.83 |
| Russell Street | 251 | 56.27 | 195 | 43.73 |
| Victoria Hall | 819 | 46.45 | 944 | 53.55 |
| Walker Street | 629 | 58.45 | 447 | 41.55 |
| Absentees & Seamen | 186 | 64.58 | 102 | 35.42 |
| Total | 4,033 | 50.67 | 3,926 | 49.33 |
As a result of Statham's victory, the government retained its scant 41:39 majority, allowing them to continue in office. At the next general election in 1919 Statham once again defeated Munro. Statham was to remain MP for Dunedin Central until he retired at the 1935 general election. Munro won election to Parliament at another by-election in 1922 for the neighboring seat of Dunedin North.
Invercargill is an electorate of the New Zealand Parliament that has existed since 1866. Since the 2020 election, the electorate's representative is Penny Simmonds of the National Party.
The 1926 Eden by-election was a by-election for the Eden electorate during the 22nd New Zealand Parliament. The seat became vacant after the appointment of the sitting member, James Parr of the Reform Party as High Commissioner to London. Parr resigned on 26 March. Labour won the by-election and became the official opposition in Parliament.
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the 1871 election and was abolished for two periods, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for the introduction of the MMP voting system for the 1996 election. The current MP is Reuben Davidson, a member of the New Zealand Labour Party who was first elected in the 2023 New Zealand general election.
Dunedin North is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was established for the 1905 election and has existed since. It was last held by David Clark of the New Zealand Labour Party, who replaced the long-standing representative Pete Hodgson. It was considered a safe Labour seat, with Labour holding the seat for all but one term (1975–1978) since 1928. In the 2020 electoral boundary review, Otago Peninsula was added to the area to address a population quota shortfall; with this change the electorate was succeeded by the Dunedin electorate in the 2020 election.
Dunedin South is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It first existed from 1881 to 1890, and subsequently from 1905 to 1946. In 1996, the electorate was re-established for the introduction of MMP, before being abolished in 2020.
Napier is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives. It is named after the city of Napier, the main urban area within the electorate. The electorate was established for the 1861 election and has existed since. It has been held by Katie Nimon of the New Zealand National Party since the 2023 general election. It was held by Stuart Nash of the New Zealand Labour Party from the 2014 general election until 2023, when he did not stand for re-election.
Nelson is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives of New Zealand. From 1853 to 1860, the electorate was called Town of Nelson. From 1860 to 1881, it was City of Nelson. The electorate is the only one that has continuously existed since the 1st Parliament in 1853.
Whanganui is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first established in 1860 for the 3rd Parliament and has existed continuously since then.
James (Jimmy) McCombs was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton.
Wellington Central is an electorate, represented by a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Wellington Central is Tamatha Paul of the Green Party. She has held this position since the 2023 general election.
James Wright Munro was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the 1871 election that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament. It has been abolished and re-established several times and in its early years was a two-member electorate for two parliamentary terms. The current electorate has existed since the 2008 election and is held by Miles Anderson of the National Party.
Eden, a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate, lay in the general area of the suburb of Mount Eden in the city of Auckland.
Avon is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was created for the 1861 general election and existed until 1996. It was represented by 13 Members of Parliament and was held by Independents, Liberal Party or Labour Party representatives.
Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984.
The 11th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand.
The 16th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1905 general election in December of that year.
The 18th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1911 general election in December of that year.
The 23rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1928 general election in November of that year.
