The Oamaru by-election of 1923 was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

during the

21st New Zealand Parliament The 21st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1922 general election in December of that year. 1922 general election The 1922 general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori elect ...

. The by-election was called following the invalidation of the preceding 1922 general election result due to irregularities. It was held on 1 May 1923.

Background

When the preliminary counts for the 1922 general election in the electorate were announced,

Ernest Lee Ernest Page Lee (27 August 1862 – 19 February 1932) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Reform Party. Early life Born in 1862 in Teignmouth, England, he received his education at Cheltenham and London. Aged 18, he started learning ...

was ahead of

John Andrew MacPherson John Andrew MacPherson (1856 – 21 July 1944) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party and the United Party. Political career He unsuccessfully contested the electorate in the against the incumbent, Thomas Young Duncan. I ...

by just one vote. Once the absentee votes had been counted, it was announced that MacPherson was leading by five votes, but this was subsequently increased to 25 votes. A recount was ordered, during which some irregularities came to light, and Lee asked for a judicial review. The court case was heard at the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

by Sir Robert Stout and Justice Alexander Samuel Adams, who declared the election void and ordered the parties to pay their own expenses.

Candidates

Two candidates contested the seat.

( Liberal Party), who had taken the seat off the incumbent

( Reform Party), again won the vote.

Result

The following table gives the election results: MacPherson won the by-election. At the subsequent general election in 1925, Lee in turn defeated MacPherson.

Notes

References

* * Oamaru 1923 1923 elections in New Zealand Politics of Otago {{NewZealand-election-stub