Tasmanian general election, 1916

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House of Assembly election, 1916
Party Vote % Seats
Labor 48.5 ↑2.5 14 0
Liberal 48.2 ↓4.4 15 ↓1
Independent 1.9 ↑1.9 1 ↑1
No majority

A general election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on March 23, 1916 (a Thursday, as the convention of holding elections on a Saturday did not become common until the 1920s).

Contents

[edit] Background

Although the Liberals had won the 1913 election, events since then had seen them lose government, and by 1916 the incumbent Premier of Tasmania was Labor's John Earle. Earle's government had been appointed on the expectation that he would quickly call for a dissolution of parliament, however he refused to do so, and successfully appealed to the Colonial Office. He remained Premier until the writ for the next election was issued.

The Liberal Party was headed by Walter Lee.

[edit] 1916 Election Results

Party Number of votes Percentage Seats won Percent Swing
Australian Labor Party 36,118 48.5% 14 +2.5%
Liberal Party 35,939 48.2% 15 -4.4%
Other 2,457 1.4% 1 +1.4%
Percentage Change
Turn out 74,514 69.4% +4.1%
Informal 4,470 6.0% +3.0%

[edit] Distribution of Seats

Electorate Seats won
Bass            
Darwin            
Denison            
Franklin            
Wilmot            
  Australian Labor Party
  Liberal Party
  Independent

[edit] Aftermath

The Labor Party made no gains at the 1916 election, and with one seat in Darwin going to Joshua Whitsitt who ran as an independent, the Liberals had no clear majority, although Walter Lee became Premier as leader of the party with the most seats.

[edit] References

[edit] External links