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 1956; voting took place in the Eastern constituencies between 11 and 18 August, and on 18 August in all other constituencies."Muslims Won't Participate but rest of Fiji goes to polls", ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1956, p51

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 ten 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 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, 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.

Campaign

The elections were boycotted by the Muslim community in protest at not having an elected seat reserved for them. The community was instead represented by one of the two Indo-Fijian nominated members. The

Fiji Muslim League Fiji Muslim League (FML) is an organisation founded in 1926 in Fiji. Following its foundation the organisation set up branches across the country. Most of the Muslim schools in Fiji are operated by the Fiji Muslim League. History Formation ...

requested its members not to participate in the elections in any form, whilst the Muslim Association of Fiji advised Muslims not to accept nomination to the Council. All candidates were offered two slots on FBC radio.

Results

Nominated members

Aftermath

Following the elections,

Lala Sukuna Ratu Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vanayaliyali Sukuna (22 April 1888 – 30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the Modern Fiji, post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than an ...

was appointed as the first Speaker of the Legislative Council.

A. H. Sahu Khan Dr Abdul Habib Sahu Khan served two terms as an Indian nominated member of the Legislative Council of Fiji from 1957 to 1963. His brother Abdul Rahman was also an MLC during the 1940s. He is credited with proposing the idea of the South Pacific G ...

, leader of the Muslim Association of Fiji, replaced

A. R. Manu Abdul Rahman Manu (died 29 March 1957) was an Indo-Fijian businessman politician. He served as a nominated member of the Legislative Council from 1956 until his death in 1957. Biography Born in Fiji, Manu owned a business and sugar cane farm i ...

as one of the nominated Indian members in 1957. After Maurice Scott was appointed Speaker following the death of Sukuna in May 1958, a by-election was held in the European Northern and Western constituency, in which

Ronald Kermode Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

defeated Mark White by seven votes.1956 Fiji Legislative Council elections
Fiji ElectionsBlood and Old Fiji Legco
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1959, p143

References

{{Fijian elections

1956 in Fiji Elections in Fiji 1956 elections in the British Empire August 1956 events in Oceania