1932 Fijian general election

General elections were held in Fiji on 31 August 1932,[1] although only one of the nine elected seats was contested.

Electoral system

The Legislative Council consisted of thirteen appointed Civil Servants, nine elected members (six Europeans and three Indo-Fijians) and three Fijians appointed from a list of between four and six potential candidates presented to the Governor by the Great Council of Chiefs. The Governor also sat in the Council as its President.[2]

Voting for Europeans was 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] A total of 1,533 Europeans (127 in Eastern, 259 in Northern, 750 in Suva, 254 in Vanua Levu & Taveuni and 143 in Western) 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, Telegu 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] A total of 1,585 Indo-Fijians (140 in Eastern, 669 in Northern & Western and 776 in Southern) were enrolled.[4]

In both ethnic categories, civil servants were barred from voting.[2]

Campaign

Between the 1929 elections and the 1932 elections, the leader of the Indo-Fijian community Vishnu Deo had been convicted of an offence and was barred from running for election.[5] The community decided to nominate only two candidates for the three seats, with no-one running in the Eastern Division.[5]

In the European seats, the only candidates were the sitting Council members, resulting in all six being returned unopposed.[5]

Results

Constituency Candidate Votes % Notes
European members
EasternJohn Maynard HedstromUnopposedRe-elected
NorthernHugh RaggUnopposedRe-elected
SouthernHenry Milne ScottUnopposedRe-elected
Alport BarkerUnopposedRe-elected
Vanua Levu & TaveuniWilliam Edmund Willoughby-TottenhamUnopposedRe-elected
WesternJohn Percy BaylyUnopposedRe-elected
Indo-Fijian members
EasternNo nominations received
Northern and WesternMuniswamy MudaliarUnopposedElected
SouthernK. B. Singh34178.8Elected
Narbahadur Singh9221.2
Informal38
Source: Ali

Nominated members

Role Member
GovernorMurchison Fletcher (until May 1936), Arthur Richards (from November 1936)
Attorney-GeneralRansley Thacker (from March 1934)
Colonial SecretaryCecil Barton (from December 1936)
Commissioner of LandsFrederick Raymond Charlton (from October 1935)
Comptroller of CustomsJohn Murchie Wilson
Director of AgricultureHenry Walter Jack
Director of EducationJames Russell (from September 1934)
Director of Medical ServicesAlexander Hugh Blaxell Pearce
Director of Public WorksW. Wise
Inspector-General of ConstabularyJ.S. Gamble
Postmaster-GeneralP.F. Boyd (until July 1936), William Frederick Hayward (from October 1936)
Secretary for Indian AffairsVictor William Tighe McGusty (from June 1936)
Secretary for Native AffairsHugh Claud Monckton
TreasurerJohn Craig
Fijian membersLala Sukuna
Deve Toganivalu
Popi Seniloli
Source: Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1936

Aftermath

After the Legislative Council was opened, the Indo-Fijian members put forward another proposal for a common roll. It had been planned that both elected members would resign after the proposal was rejected, but Northern and Western member Muniswamy Mudaliar refused to give up his seat. Southern Division member K. B. Singh did resign and was re-elected in a by-election the following year, winning by a larger margin.[5] The by-election was boycotted by the Muslim community, who were demanding their own reserved seat.[6]

1933 Southern Division by-election
Candidate Votes %
K. B. Singh38293.9
Narbahadur Singh256.1
Informal votes31
Total438100
Source: Ali

References

  1. Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1936, p103
  2. 1932 Legislative Council Election Fiji Elections Archive
  3. "Personnel of New Council", Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1932, p16
  4. Fiji Indians seek common roll but abandon non-cooperation Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1932, p15
  5. 1932 Fiji Legislative Council elections Fiji Elections
  6. Fiji Indian Election Pacific Islands Monthly, July 1933, p42
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