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General elections were held in Fiji on 29 August 1953. [1]
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General elections were held in Fiji on 29 August 1953. [1]
The Legislative Council consisted of 32 members, including 16 'official' members who were civil servants, fifteen 'unofficial' members (five Europeans, five Fijians and five Indo-Fijians), and the Governor sitting as President of the Council.
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. [2]
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. [2] 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. [2]
Leaders of the Muslim Indo-Fijian community urged a boycott of the elections, calling for separate representation and for Urdu to be taught instead of Hindi. [3]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European members | ||||
| Eastern | Harold Brockett Gibson | 227 | 49.7 | Re-elected |
| Fred Archibald | 210 | 46.0 | ||
| William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham | 20 | 4.4 | ||
| Northern and Western | Maurice Scott | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| Southern | John Falvey | 487 | 59.8 | Elected |
| James Burton Turner | 238 | 29.2 | ||
| Charles Phillips | 89 | 10.9 | ||
| Indo-Fijian members | ||||
| Eastern | James Madhavan | 886 | 55.7 | Re-elected |
| Odin Ramrakha | 706 | 44.3 | ||
| Northern and Western | Ayodhya Prasad | 2,043 | 47.5 | Elected |
| A. D. Patel | 1,919 | 44.6 | ||
| Tulsi Ram Sharma | 280 | 6.5 | Unseated | |
| Babubhai Patel | 54 | 1.3 | ||
| Hari Shankar | 5 | 0.1 | ||
| Southern | Vishnu Deo | 2,365 | 64.5 | Re-elected |
| Hari Charan | 1,288 | 35.1 | ||
| Hari Charan Akheel | 12 | 0.3 | ||
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly | ||||
| Type | Member |
|---|---|
| Unofficial members | |
| Europeans | Stanley Cowled |
| William Granger Johnson | |
| Fijians | Edward Cakobau |
| Kamisese Mara | |
| Indo-Fijians | K. S. Reddy |
| Abdul Samad | |
| Official members | |
| Accountant General | W.E. Donovan |
| Commissioner of Police | E.K. Laws |
| Comptroller of Customs | A.R. Smith |
| Director of Agriculture | C. Harvey |
| Director of Education | G. Arthur |
| Director of Labour | C.S. Reay |
| Director of Lands | R.V. Cole |
| Director of Medical Services | J.M. Cruikshank |
| Director of Public Works | J.P. Bruen |
| Secretary for Fijian Affairs | Lala Sukuna |
| Appointed | George Cakobau |
| C.R. Nott | |
| Brahmanand Raghvanand | |
| Ex officio | |
| Attorney General | Brian Andre Doyle |
| Colonial Secretary | H.W. Davidson |
| Financial Secretary | E.R. Bevington |
| Source: Fiji Elections, Pacific Islands Monthly | |
Since becoming independent of the United Kingdom in 1970, Fiji has had four constitutions, and the voting system has changed accordingly.
The Legislative Council of Fiji was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.
The Colony of Fiji was a Crown colony that existed from 1874 to 1970 in the territory of the present-day nation of Fiji. London declined its first opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti title. His demand was unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who regarded him only as first among equals, if that. Mounting debts and threats from the United States Navy had led Cakobau to establish a constitutional monarchy with a government dominated by European settlers in 1871, following an agreement with the Australian Polynesia Company to pay his debts. The collapse of the new regime drove him to make another offer of cession in 1872, which the British accepted. On 10 October 1874, Britain began its rule of Fiji, which lasted until 10 October 1970.
James Ranchandar Rao was one of the three Indo-Fijians elected to the Legislative Council of Fiji in October 1929 when Indo-Fijians were given the first opportunity to elect their own representatives in the 1929 elections. The other two were Vishnu Deo and Parmanand Singh.
Kunwar Bachint Singh was an Indo-Fijian teacher and politician. He arrived in Fiji in 1927 as a teacher for the Arya Samaj but his association with Vishnu Deo led him to play an active role in aggressively promoting the Arya Samaj and finally into politics. He was elected into the Legislative Council as a protégé of Vishnu Deo but after the election took an independent stance opposed to the wishes of the majority of the Indo-Fijians. He supported nominated rather than elected representation, actively supported the war effort and even attempted to set up a farmers union opposed to a number of existing unions. The Government rewarded him for his loyalty by nominating him into the Legislative Council three times, appointing him as a Justice of the Peace and as the first Indo-Fijian member of the Executive Council.
General elections were held in Fiji between 17 April and 4 May 1963. For the first time, women and indigenous Fijians were given the right to vote alongside the male European and Indo-Fijian population.
Andrew Indar Narayan Deoki was an Indo-Fijian statesman who served his community as a social and religious leader, soccer administrator, member of the Legislative Council and Senate in independent Fiji and as Attorney General.
General elections were held in Fiji in June and July 1917.
General elections were held in Fiji in July, August and September 1920.
General elections were held in Fiji in 1923.
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.
General elections were held in Fiji on 31 August 1932, although only one of the nine elected seats was contested.
General elections were held in Fiji in July 1937, the first in which an equal number of Europeans and Indo-Fijians were elected.
General elections were held in Fiji on 20 July 1940.
General elections were held in Fiji on 29 July 1944. The term of the Legislative Council elected in 1940 was due to end in 1943, but was extended by a year by the Governor.
General elections were held in Fiji in September 1947. Voting took place in the Northern and Western and Southern constituencies on 20 September, with voting in the Eastern constituency carried out between 15 and 22 September.
General elections were held in Fiji in August 1950. Voting took place in most locations on 26 August, and in the Lau and Lomaiviti Islands between 21 and 28 August.
General elections were held in Fiji in August 1956; voting took place in the Eastern constituencies between 11 and 18 August, and on 18 August in all other constituencies.
General elections were held in Fiji in September 1959, the last in which women and ethnic Fijians were still barred from voting. Voting took place in the Eastern constituencies between 5 and 12 September, and in the Northern and Western and Southern constituencies on 12 September.
