Avon by-election, 1947

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Avon by-election, 1947
Flag of New Zealand.svg
←  1946 general 28 May 1947 (1947-05-28) 1949 general  →
Turnout 84.7

  Jock Mathison.jpg No image.png
Candidate Jock Mathison R. A. McDowell
Party Labour National
Popular vote 8,513 4,422
Percentage 65.31 33.92
Member before election

Dan Sullivan
Labour

Elected Member

Jock Mathison
Labour

The 1947 Avon by-election was a by-election held during the 28th New Zealand Parliament in the Christchurch electorate of Avon. The by-election occurred following the death of MP Dan Sullivan and was won by Jock Mathison.

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

28th New Zealand Parliament

The 28th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1946 general election in November of that year.

Christchurch Metropolitan area in South Island, New Zealand

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is home to 404,500 residents, making it New Zealand's third-most populous city behind Auckland and Wellington.

Contents

Background

Dan Sullivan, who was first elected to represent Avon for the Labour Party in 1919, died on 8 April 1947. [1] This triggered the Avon by-election, which occurred on 28 May 1947. [2] Jock Mathison was the candidate for the Labour Party, R. A. McDowell was the candidate for the National Party and John Ramby Robertson was an independent candidate. Mathison obtained 65.31% of the votes and was successful. [3]

Dan Sullivan (New Zealand politician) New Zealand politician

Daniel Giles Sullivan was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Mayor of Christchurch.

The New Zealand Labour Party, or simply Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice. It is a participant of the international Progressive Alliance.

Previous election

1946 general election: Avon [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Dan Sullivan 9,539 68.64
National R. A. McDowell 4,359 31.36
Majority 5,180 37.27
Turnout 13,898 92.74

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Avon by-election, 1947 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Jock Mathison 8,513 65.31
National R A McDowell 4,422 33.92 +2.56
Independent John Ramby Robertson 100 0.77
Majority 4,091 31.38 −5.89
Turnout 13,035 84.43 −9.31
Labour hold Swing −3.33

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Watson, James (updated 22 June 2007). "Sullivan, Daniel Giles 1882 - 1947". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Norton 1988, p. 3.
  3. 1 2 3 Norton 1988, p. 195.

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References

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