Legislative Council elections were held in
Mandatory Palestine in February and March 1923. However, due to an Arab boycott of the elections called by the fifth
Palestine Arab Congress
The Palestine Arab Congress was a series of congresses held by the Palestinian Arab population, organized by a nationwide network of local Muslim-Christian Associations, in the British Mandate of Palestine. Between 1919 and 1928, seven congresses w ...
, the results of the election were annulled,
[""Palestine. The Constitution Suspended., Arab Boycott Of Elections., Back To British Rule" The Times, 30 May 1923, p14, Issue 43354] and an Advisory Council was appointed instead.
Background
The Palestinian Legislative Council was established pursuant to Part III of the 1922 Palestine Order in Council, which was the constitution of the British Mandate.
[ The Council was to consist of 23 members - 12 elected, 10 appointed and the High Commissioner.][ The ten appointed members were to be the Chief Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Treasurer, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director of Health, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Education, the Director of Agriculture, the Director of Customs and the Director of Commerce and Industry. Of the 12 elected members, eight were to be Muslim Arabs, two Christian Arabs and two Jews.][Legislative Council (Palestine)]
Answers.com Arabs protested against the distribution of the seats, arguing that as they constituted 88% of the population, having only 43% of the seats was unfair.[ The Muslim and Christian Arabs boycotted the elections.]
Electoral system
Primary elections were held in February to elect secondary electors, who in turn were divided into electoral colleges for the purpose of electing Council members.[ All male citizens over the age of 25 had the right to vote.]["Constitution Of Palestine. Legislative Council's Elected Members", ''The Times'', 2 September 1922, p7, Issue 43126] A total of 823 secondary electors were to be elected; 670 Muslims, 79 Jews, 59 Christians and 15 Druze.[Palestine Constitution]
Hansard
Results
Whilst the election held between 20 and 28 February returned sufficient numbers of Druze and Jewish electors, only 82 electors were returned by Christian and Muslim Arabs.[Neil Caplan (1978) ''Palestine Jewry and the Arab question, 1917-1925'' Routledge, p159] Voting was extended, but even after the additional period, only 126 Arab electors had been chosen.[
]
Aftermath
After the elections results were annulled, a 12-member Advisory Council was established in May 1923. Its members were:[
*Bedouins
**Fereih Middein ( Beersheba)
*Christians
**Suleiman Bey Nassif
**Anton Jallad (]Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
)
*Jews
**Two members
*Muslims
**Raghib al-Nashashibi
Raghib al-Nashashibi ( ar, راغب النشاشيبي, ) (1881–1951), CBE (hon), was a wealthy landowner and public figure during the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the Nashashibi clan ...
( Mayor of Jerusalem)
**Aref al-Dajani
Aref Basha al-Dajani ( ar, عارف الدجاني) (1856 – April 14, 1930) was an Arab Palestinian politician who served as mayor of Jerusalem in 1917–1918.
Aref al-Dajani was born in Jerusalem in 1856.
Political activism
In 1918, after serv ...
**Ismail Bey Husseini
**Abdul Fattah es Saadi ( Mayor of Acre)
**Amin Abd al-Hadi Amin Abd al-Hadi ( Arabic: أمين عبد الهادي; 1897–1967) was the former head of the Supreme Muslim Council. Originally a member of the Ottoman parliament, but was later appointed by the British Mandate authorities to a provision ...
( Haifa)
**Suleiman Bey Touqan (Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
)
**Mahmoud Abu Khadra (Mayor of Gaza
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...
)
References
External links
1922 The Palestine Order in Council
UNISPAL
{{Palestinian elections
Mandatory Palestine
1923 in Mandatory Palestine
Elections in Israel
Elections in Palestine (region)
February 1923 events
March 1923 events
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results