Bay of Islands by-election, 1929
The Bay of Islands by-election of 1929 was a by-election held on 10 April 1929 during the 22nd New Zealand Parliament in the Northland seat of Bay of Islands. They by-election came about because Harold Rushowth's win in the general election of the previous year was declared void. The seat was won again by Harold Rushworth of the Country Party.
General Election
| New Zealand general election, 1928 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 3,839 | 61.66 | ||
| Reform | Allen Bell | 3,839 | 35.72 | ||
| New Zealand Liberal Party | R.E Hornblow | 351 | 2.61 | ||
| Majority | 0 | ||||
| Turnout | 8,029 | ||||
Harold Rushworth was originally declared the winner on election night.
Cause of by-election
Supporters of Allen Bell filed a petition to the electoral court complaining of voting irregularities. Bell, however, claimed that he would take no part in any attempts to upset the election, leaving it up to his supporters. This petition was ultimately successful and it was announced by the court that a by-election should take place for the seat.
Selection Process
Both Rushworth and Bell decided to run again for the seat.
The Labour party refused to put up a candidate, believing that the two candidates who had tied with each other should compete in the by-election.
Result
| New Zealand general election, 1928 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Country Party | Harold Rushworth | 4,385 | |||
| Reform | Allen Bell | 3,911 | |||
| Majority | 474 | ||||
| Turnout | 8,296 | ||||
This by-election clearly created much interest as the turnout was higher here than it was at the general election. Rushworth's improved showing can be put down to the fact that he got most of the votes that were previously cast for Hornblow.
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Islands_by-election,_1929
