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General elections were held in Fiji in July 1937, the first in which an equal number of Europeans and Indo-Fijians were elected.
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General elections were held in Fiji in July 1937, the first in which an equal number of Europeans and Indo-Fijians were elected.
The elections had originally been due in 1935, but in July 1936 the term of the Legislative Council elected in 1932 was extended until 1936 following the passing of a motion by the elected members to make the Council an entirely appointed body due to concerns that Indo-Fijian voters would outnumber Europeans. [1] [2] The same concerns had led to the abolition of elections to Suva Municipal Council earlier in the year. [3]
Following the changes to the constitution that allowed Indo-Fijians to vote in Legislative Council elections for the first time in 1929, further constitutional amendments were made in July 1936 that provided for an equal number of seats for Europeans, Fijians and Indo-Fijians in the Legislative Council, which was expanded from 25 to 31 members (with the Governor also sitting as President of the Council). The number of appointed civil servants was increased from 13 to 16, whilst there were five 'unofficial' members from each of the three main ethnic groups and the Governor sitting as President of the Council. [4]
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. [5]
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. [5] A total of 1,348 Europeans were registered to vote. [3]
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. [5] A total of 2,813 Indo-Fijians were registered to vote. [3]
In both ethnic categories, civil servants were barred from voting. [5]
In the four contested constituencies, 2,363 of the 2,497 registered voters participated in the election, a voter turnout of 94.6%.
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European members | ||||
| Eastern | Harold Brockett Gibson | 143 | 55.2 | Elected |
| William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham | 116 | 44.8 | Unseated | |
| Informal votes | 6 | – | ||
| Total | 265 | 100 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 307 | 86.3 | ||
| Northern and Western | Hugh Ragg | 255 | 55.9 | Re-elected |
| John Percy Bayly | 201 | 44.1 | Unseated | |
| Informal votes | 4 | – | ||
| Total | 460 | 100 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 507 | 90.7 | ||
| Southern | Alport Barker | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| Indo-Fijian members | ||||
| Eastern | J. B. Tularam | 132 | 52.8 | Elected |
| Channa Bhai Patel | 118 | 47.2 | ||
| Total | 250 | 100 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 275 | 90.9 | ||
| Northern and Western | Chattur Singh | 671 | 50.8 | Elected |
| A. D. Patel | 651 | 49.2 | ||
| Informal votes | 66 | – | ||
| Total | 1,388 | 100 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,408 | 98.6 | ||
| Southern | Vishnu Deo | Unopposed | Elected | |
| Source: Fiji Elections | ||||
The Great Council of Chiefs submitted their list of ten candidates to the Governor in late 1936; George Tuisawau, Lala Sukuna, Isireli Tawake, Tiale Vuiyasawa, Deve Toganivalu, G. Lala, E. Mataitini, George Toganivalu, Penijamini Veli and Popi Cakobau. Cakobau died shortly after being shortlisted by the Council. [6]
| Europeans |
|---|
| Henry King Irving |
| John Maynard Hedstrom |
| Fijians |
| Lala Sukuna |
| Isireli Tawake |
| Deve Toganivalu |
| George Tuisawau |
| Penijamini Veli |
| Indo-Fijians |
| Said Hasan |
| K. B. Singh |
| Source: PIM |
John Maynard Hedstrom resigned from the Council in December 1937, [7] and was replaced by John Trotter. [8] Deve Toganivalu resigned shortly afterwards and was replaced by Glanville Lalabalavu. [9] Following the death of Penijamini Veli in August 1938, Tiale Vuiyasawa was appointed as his replacement. [10]
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Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau was Governor-General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874, Ratu Sir George held the traditional titles of Vunivalu of Bau and Tui Levuka and thus was considered by many as Fiji's highest-ranking traditional chief. Ratu Cakobau was appointed Governor-General in 1973, becoming the first indigenous Fijian to serve as the representative of Elizabeth II, Queen of Fiji.
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Ratu Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vanayaliyali Sukuna was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than anybody to lay the groundwork for self-government by fostering the development of modern institutions in Fiji, and although he died a dozen years before independence from the United Kingdom was achieved in 1970, his vision set the course that Fiji was to follow in the years to come.
Ratu Sir Edward Tuivanuavou Tugi Cakobau was a Fijian chief, soldier, politician and cricketer. He was a member of the Fijian legislature from 1944 until his death, also serving as Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour and Deputy Prime Minister. During the 1940s he made two appearances for the Fiji national cricket team.
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Ratu Popi Epeli Cakobau was a Fijian chief and politician. He held the title of Vunivalu of Bau from 1914 until his death in 1936, and was also a nominated member of the Legislative Council.
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General elections were held in Fiji in 1926.
General elections were held in Fiji in 1929. They were the first in which Indo-Fijians were allowed to vote.
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Ratu Deve Toganivalu was a Fijian chief and politician. He was Roko Tui of Bua from 1909 until 1928 and a member of the Legislative Council between 1926 and 1938.
Ratu George Toganivalu was a Fijian chief and politician. He was Roko Tui of Bua and Ba, and a member of the Legislative Council between 1940 and 1951.
Ratu Julian Nasaroa Brown Toganivalu was a Fijian chief, civil servant and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives for three days in 1977.
Ratu Tiale Wimbledon Thomas Vuiyasawa was a Fijian chief, civil servant and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and Senate.
Ratu Penijamini Veli was a Fijian chief, civil servant and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council from 1937 until his death the following year.
