1953 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland election

May 2013 December 2023 Federal elections were held in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland on 15 December 1953. They were the first elections to the Legislative Assembly of the federation, which had been formed a few months before. The elections saw a landslide victory for the Federal Party under Godfrey Huggins,2025-07-02 Godfrey Huggins, 1st Viscount Malvern Southern Rhodesia, Colonialism, Politics Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Godfrey-Huggins-1st-Viscount-Malvern 2025-08-15 www.britannica.com en who had been Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia for the past 20 years. Composition of the Federal Assembly Voters elected 35 members of a unicameral Federal Assembly: 14 from Southern Rhodesia constituencies, 8 from Northern Rhodesia constituencies, and four from Nyasaland. In addition, there were three members from each territory representing African interests: one of these was a European and two were African. In Southern Rhodesia only, these positions were elected; in the other territories, the Governor appointed the European member, while an electoral college chose the African members. Electoral qualifications When the Federal constitution was agreed at the London conference of 1953, the qualification for electors in Northern and Southern Rhodesia was taken as the same as those in operation for territorial elections in those territories. Nyasaland did not have direct elections at this point and so was excluded until the Legislative Council there enacted proper provisions. At the election day, the electorate was comprised as follows: TerritoryEuropean electorsAsian electorsColoured electorsAfrican electorsTotalSouthern Rhodesia48,86959457044150,474Northern Rhodesia14,588856315,447Nyasaland98375 – –1,058Total64,4402,09544466,979 Election campaign The advent of the Federation caused a profound shift in the structure of politics in the Rhodesias. Godfrey Huggins formed the Federal Party to fight the election, merging his own United Party with the opposition Rhodesia Party and incorporating supporters in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Several members of other opposition parties in Southern Rhodesia who supported federation also decided to join the Federal Party. Among them were William Eastwood, from the Rhodesia Labour Party, whose departure was prompted by the initial decision of his Party to fight the elections: Eastwood felt that this would divide supporters of federation. Another opposition member going over to the Federal Party was Ian Smith, who had been elected as a Liberal candidate in the 1948 general election. Opponents of federation formed the Confederate Party, which advocated a system in the Rhodesias akin to apartheid in South Africa. This issue was also raised by Huggins who campaigned vigorously against it. Huggins believed the policy was unpopular and impractical. A group called the Progressive Party was formed to offer voters a party of the centre-left, but swiftly dissolved when it found organising a difficulty and realised it would not be able to nominate more than about two candidates. There were a few independent candidates, most notably two in Northern Rhodesia. Dr Alexander Scott in Lusaka and Norman Lacey in the copperbelt constituency of Nkana-Chingola both advocated a liberal racial policy similar to that which the Progressive Party had been intending to offer. One unusual court case arose after nominations. Gaston Thornicroft, a mixed-race man who was described as "living like a European", was refused nomination for the Southern Rhodesia constituency for Europeans to represent African interests on the grounds that he was not a European. He challenged the decision in court but was unsuccessful. Results Ordinary members African members Special European member Federal Party 35992 24 20005 2 26 Confederate Party 15263 1 10183 0 1 Independents 1848 1 7520 0 26376 1 2 African electoral college 4 Governor nominees 2 9123 1947 50474 50474 Sternberger et al.Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1978) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Zweiter Halbband, p1684 By territory Northern Rhodesia Federal Party 7053 7 Confederate Party 1858 0 Independents 873 1 African electoral colleges 2 Governor nominees 1 11 15507 Sternberger et al. Ordinary members ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%Broken Hill1,552 (60.3%)Roland WelenskyFederal Party81787.3William KirkwoodConfederate Party11912.7Kafue1,015 (62.9%)Guillaume François Marais Van EedenFederal Party44169.1 John GauntConfederate Party19730.9Livingstone1,377 (66.7%)John Cranmer GraylinFederal Party67173.0Frank DerbyConfederate Party24827.0Luanshya-Mufulira3,066 (60.0%)Vincent Thomas JoyceFederal Party1,32672.1Douglas Edgar CharsleyConfederate Party51327.9Luangwa889 (61.9%)Frank Bruce RobertsonFederal Party44681.1Charles Benjamin DodkinsConfederate Party10418.9Lusaka2,172 (67.4%)Dr Alexander ScottIndependent75851.8Ernest Walter SargeantFederal Party62642.8Raymond Beresford PakenhamConfederate Party795.4Ndola1,946 (57.2%)Frank Stephen OwenFederal Party90781.5Willem Hugo Van ZylConfederate Party20618.5Nkana-Chingola3,490 (66.6%)George Wellington Rex L'AngeFederal Party1,81978.2Edward Brockman HovelmeierConfederate Party39216.9Norman Henry LaceyIndependent1154.9 Specially elected African members TerritoryMemberPartyNorthern RhodesiaMateyo KakumbiIndependentDauti Lawton YambaIndependent Specially appointed European member TerritoryMemberPartyNORTHERN RHODESIADr. John Fearby Campbell Haslam (resigned, 20 December 1954)IndependentSir John Smith Moffat (appointed 22 December 1954)Independent Nyasaland Federal Party 3412 4 Confederate Party 29 0 Independents 190 0 African electoral college 2 Governor nominees 1 Sternberger et al. Ordinary members ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%NYASALANDFour members1,058 (85.8%)Rupert Cecil BucquetFederal Party90387.3John FootFederal Party879Paul Frederick BreretonFederal Party822Malcolm Palliser BarrowFederal Party808Pranlal Dayaram LalsodagarwalaIndependent1059.7Alibhai Adambhai DesaiIndependent85Charles WalshConfederate Party293.0 Specially elected African members TerritoryMemberPartyNYASALANDWellington Manoah ChirwaIndependentClement Robin KumbikanoIndependent Specially appointed European member TerritoryMemberPartyNYASALANDAndrew Beveridge Doig (resigned, 24 June 1958)Independent Southern Rhodesia Ordinary members African members Special European member Federal Party 25527 13 20005 2 26 Confederate Party 13376 1 10183 0 1 Independents 785 0 7520 0 26376 1 1 246 9123 1947 50474 50474 50474 Sternberger et al. Ordinary members ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%BORDER3,618 (83.2%)Benjamin Disraeli GoldbergFederal Party1,88662.7Andrew SkeenConfederate Party1,12337.3BULAWAYO3,401 (75.9%)Donald MacIntyreFederal Party1,78969.3Arthur Lear SmithConfederate Party79330.7BULAWAYO SUBURBS3,575 (77.3%)William Hives EastwoodFederal Party1,96171.0William ShawConfederate Party80129.0DARWIN3,547 (79.4%)John Moore CaldicottFederal Party1,94669.1Richard Hunter ChristieConfederate Party87230.9MIDLANDS3,584 (71.5%)Ian Douglas SmithFederal Party1,14844.8Robert WilliamsonIndependent78530.6William Henry WeedonConfederate Party62924.6MREWA3,664 (80.3%)Neville Gwynne BarrettFederal Party1,81661.7George Richard MusgraveConfederate Party1,12638.3SALISBURY3,995 (72.8%)Leslie Manfred Noel HodsonFederal Party2,02369.5John Liston DalrympleConfederate Party88630.5SALISBURY SOUTH3,665 (75.2%)William Alexander Eustace WintertonFederal Party1,49654.3Hendrik Andries AlbertsConfederate Party1,26145.7SALISBURY SUBURBS3,649 (77.2%)Godfrey Martin HugginsFederal Party2,05573.0Estcourt Vernon Herbert Cresswell-GeorgeConfederate Party76127.0SALISBURY WEST3,848 (78.3%)James Watson SwanFederal Party2,06968.7Percy Arthur NewtonConfederate Party94331.3SEBAKWE3,331 (78.0%)John Richard Dendy YoungConfederate Party1,41554.5Jacob Letterstedt SmitFederal Party1,18245.5UMGUZA3,675 (78.0%)Julius Macdonald GreenfieldFederal Party2,07272.3William Henry RatthamConfederate Party79527.7UMNIATI3,484 (75.5%)Leslie Major CullinanFederal Party1,49156.7James Angus Graham, Marquess GrahamConfederate Party1,13843.3WESTERN3,375 (73.4%)Robert Francis HalstedFederal Party1,59364.3Andries Bernardus MentzConfederate Party88335.7 Specially elected African members ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%MASHONALAND26,049 (55.9%)Jasper Zengeza SavanhuIndependent9,44764.9Stanlake John William Thompson SamkangeIndependent5,12035.1MATABELELAND24,425 (53.1%)Masotsha Mike HoveIndependent10,55881.5Joshua Mqabuko NkomoIndependent2,40018.5 Specially elected European member ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%SOUTHERN RHODESIA50,474 (72.4%)Percy IbbotsonIndependent13,40236.7Ian Finlay McLeanConfederate Party10,18327.9James Henderson FarquharIndependent8,35322.8Henry Alfred HolmesIndependent4,62112.6 Changes during the Assembly Southern Rhodesia by-election Rev. Percy Ibbotson, the specially elected European member representing African interests from Southern Rhodesia, died on 3 April 1955. When nominations closed on 27 May 1955, Harry Ellinder Davies was the only candidate to replace him, and was therefore declared elected unopposed. Kafue by-election Guy Van Eeden, who became increasingly opposed to Federal Party policies, was expelled from the party in July 1955 and responded by resigning on 8 July 1955 to seek re-election in his constituency of Kafue (Northern Rhodesia). The by-election was held on 6 October 1955. ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%KAFUE1,290 (64.7%)Guillaume François Marais Van EedenIndependent50059.9Geoffrey Bernard BeckettFederal Party30536.5Frank Sheridan DerbyIndependent CP303.6 Sebakwe by-election J.R. Dendy Young, the Confederate Party member for Sebakwe (Southern Rhodesia), was appointed as a Judge. He resigned on 26 January 1956, and the by-election to succeed him was held on 5 April 1956. By this time, the Confederate Party had been dissolved and replaced by the Dominion Party. ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%SEBAKWERobert WilliamsonDP80536.7Dr Morris Isaac HirschFederal Party78635.8Johannes Mathys de KockCom P60327.5 Mrewa by-election Neville Barrett, the Federal Party member for Mrewa (Southern Rhodesia) died on 15 April 1957. The by-election to replace him was held on 6 June 1957. ConstituencyElectorate and turnoutCandidatePartyVotes%MREWA3,853 (67.4%)Winston Joseph FieldDP1,37552.9Evan Roy CampbellFederal Party1,22347.1 Mashonaland by-election Jasper Savanhu, the specially elected African member for Mashonaland (Southern Rhodesia), had problems with the proposed new constitution in terms of its provisions for voters' qualifications. Although his responsibility was to represent the views of Africans, his electorate were predominantly Europeans. He therefore decided to vote for the proposals, but immediately to resign (1 August 1957) and seek re-election. When nominations closed on 27 September 1957, he was the only candidate nominated, and was therefore declared elected unopposed. Seat vacant at dissolution Paul Brereton (Federal Party), one of the ordinary members for Nyasaland, died on 21 July 1958. The seat was left vacant due to the imminent federal election. References Sources Colin Leys, "An Election in Nyasaland." Political Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1957). Federation Category:Elections in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Federal Federation