Advisory Council elections were held in Northern Rhodesia for the first time in July 1918.Michael Gelfand (1961) ''Northern Rhodesia in the days of the charter: A medical and social study, 1878–1924'', Basil Blackwell, p138

Background

Europeans in Northern Rhodesia had been calling for elected representation since the early 1910s. When

Governor-General of South Africa The governor-general of the Union of South Africa ( af, Goewerneur-generaal van Unie van Suid-Afrika, nl, Goeverneur-generaal van de Unie van Zuid-Afrika) was the highest state official in the Union of South Africa between 31 May 1910 and 31 ...

Herbert Gladstone Herbert John Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, (7 January 1854 – 6 March 1930) was a British Liberal politician. The youngest son of William Ewart Gladstone, he was Home Secretary from 1905 to 1910 and Governor-General of the Union of South ...

visited the territory in 1911 he met with farmers from

Kafue Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperb ...

who demanded that an Administrative Council be created. However, the British South Africa Company (BSAC) insisted that there were too few Europeans in the territory (1,184) to allow powers to be transferred. In February 1913 the North-Western Rhodesia Farmers' Association was established, primarily to campaign for the creation of a Legislative Council.Gelfand, p136 In December 1913 the BSAC announced that Europeans in the territory would be allowed to nominate two representatives that the Administrator would have to consult with. After a political lull caused by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Leopold Moore began calling for a Legislative Council again in 1917. However, the BSAC deferred a decision until the

Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council The Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council was the inaugural governing body for the British South Africa Company (BSAC) territory of Southern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) before its replacement by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly in 1923, w ...

had made a decision 1917 on amalgamating the territories. Although the vote in April was in favour, the elected members had a majority against and the BSAC opted not to proceed.Gelfand, p137 In July 1917 Resident Commissioner

Herbert Stanley Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia. Life and career Born in England, Stanley w ...

had started work on the establishment of an administrative council. Initial plans were for it to include the Administrator, five government officials and three elected members who would not have the right to vote. Eventually it was decided that there would be five elected members.

Electoral system

Northern Rhodesia was split into two constituencies,

North-Western Rhodesia North-Western Rhodesia, in south central Africa, was a territory administered from 1891 until 1899 under charter by the British South Africa Company. In 1890 the British South Africa Company signed a treaty with King Lewanika of the Barotse, one ...

(four seats) and

North-Eastern Rhodesia North-Eastern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa formed in 1900.North-Eastern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1900 The protectorate was administered under charter by the British South Africa Company. It was one of what were ...

(one seat). Voting was restricted to British subjects of European descent over the age of 21 who had lived in the territory for at least six months and owned at least £150 of property.

Campaign

Only one candidate, J L Bruce, ran for the North-Eastern Rhodesia seat, and was returned unopposed.

Results

Defeated candidates included Burkitt, Gray and Oosthuizen.''The Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Volume 4, p337

References

{{Zambian elections

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Elections in Zambia Northern Rhodesia Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Northern Rhodesia