1950 Western Australian state election

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1950 Western Australian state election
Flag of Western Australia (1870-1953).svg
  1947 25 March 1950 (1950-03-25) 1953  

All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
26 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  Ross McLarty.jpg Frank Wise c. 1945.jpg
Leader Ross McLarty Frank Wise
Party Liberal/Country coalition Labor
Leader since14 December 194631 July 1945
Leader's seat Murray-Wellington Gascoyne
Last election25 seats23 seats
Seats won24 seats23 seats
Seat changeDecrease2.svg1Steady2.svg0
Percentage49.39%41.85%

Premier before election

Ross McLarty
Liberal/Country coalition

Resulting Premier

Ross McLarty
Liberal/Country coalition

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 25 March 1950 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Ross McLarty, won a second term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Frank Wise.

Contents

The election took place after a major redistribution.

Key dates

DateEvent
8 February 1950Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election. [1]
17 February 1950Close of nominations in the North West area.
3 March 1950Close of nominations in all other areas.
25 March 1950Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
6 April 1950The McLarty–Watts Ministry was reconstituted. [2]
14 April 1950The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Results

Western Australian state election, 25 March 1950
Legislative Assembly
<< 19471953 >>

Enrolled voters247,589 [1]
Votes cast229,298 Turnout 92.61%+6.70%
Informal votes4,534Informal1.98%–0.07%
Summary of votes by party
PartyPrimary votes %SwingSeatsChange
  Labor 94,05541.85%23± 0
  Liberal and Country 90,08940.08%15+ 2
  Country 20,9229.31%9– 3
 Ind. Lib.5,0592.25%2+ 1
  Communist 8150.36%0± 0
  Independent 13,8246.15%1± 0
Total224,764  50 
1 306,099 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 12 seats (24% of the total) were uncontested—6 Labor seats (9 less than 1947) representing 26,694 enrolled voters, 2 Liberal seats (the same as 1947) representing 13,278 enrolled voters, and 4 Country seats (two more than 1947) representing 18,538 enrolled voters. This change in distribution means that comparisons in vote percentages between 1947 and 1950 are largely meaningless; they have hence been omitted from the table.

See also

References

  1. "The Electoral Act, 1907–1949. Legislative Assembly General Elections, 1950". Western Australia Government Gazette. 8 February 1950. p. 1950:243.
  2. "Premier's Department". Western Australia Government Gazette. 6 April 1950. p. 1950:845.