General elections were held in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in August 1950. Voting took place in most locations on 26 August, and in the

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

and

Lomaiviti Islands The Lomaiviti (pronounced ) archipelago of Fiji consists of seven main islands and a number of smaller ones. They cover a total area of , and had a population of 15,657 at the most recent census in 2017. The largest town, with a population of 1 ...

between 21 and 28 August.

Electoral system

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 Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

), and the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 candidates submitted by the

Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs ''(Bose Levu Vakaturaga'' in Fijian) was a constitutional body in Fiji from 1876 to March 2012. In April 2007, the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interi ...

;1940 Legislative Council Election
Fiji Elections Archive usually ten names were submitted, but as there was a tie for tenth place in the vote carried out by the Council of Chiefs in July, a list of eleven was put forward. 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. 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.

Results

In the Eastern European constituency,

Harold Brockett Gibson Harold Brockett Gibson (died 31 May 1975) was a New Zealand-born Fijian solicitor and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives in three spells between 1937 and 1972. He also represented Fiji in t ...

defeated the incumbent

Fred Archibald Frederick George Archibald (died 1979) was a Fijian planter and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1947 and 1966. Biography A part-European, Archibald was born into a family of planters in Vanua Le ...

by eleven votes, whilst in the Eastern Indian constituency

James Madhavan James Madhavan (died 20 December 1973) was an Indo-Fijian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives for most of the period between 1947 and 1973 and had two spells in the Executive Council. Biography Ma ...

beat J. B. Tularam by a margin of 368 votes.

Nominated members

Aftermath

Edward Cakobau Ratu Sir Edward Tuivanuavou Tugi Cakobau (21 December 1908 – 25 June 1973) was a Fijian chief, soldier, politician and cricketer. He was a member of the Fijian legislature from 1944 until his death, also serving as Minister for Commerce, Ind ...

resigned from the Council in 1952 and was replaced by

Tiale Vuiyasawa Ratu Tiale Wimbledon Thomas Vuiyasawa (died March 1981) was a Fijian chief, civil servant and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and Senate. Biography Vuiyasawa was born into a chiefly family, the second son of Joni ...

.Ratu Tiale Vuiyasawa
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1952, p57

References

{{Fijian elections

1950 in Fiji Elections in Fiji 1950 elections in the British Empire August 1950 events in Oceania Election and referendum articles with incomplete results