General elections were held in Fiji on 29 July 1944.[1] The term of the Legislative Council elected in 1940 was due to end in 1943, but was extended by a year by the Governor.[2]
The Legislative Council consisted of 32 members, including 16 'official' members who were civil servants, fifteen 'unofficial' members (five Europeans, five Fijians and five Indo-Fijians), and the Governor sitting as President of the Council.
For Europeans and Indo-Fijians, three of the five representatives were elected from single-member constituencies, with the other two appointed by the Governor. All five Fijian members were appointed from a list of ten candidates submitted by the Great Council of Chiefs.[3]
Voting for Europeans remained restricted to men aged 21 or over who had been born to European parents (or a European father and was able to read, speak and write English), who were British subjects and had been continuously resident in Fiji for 12 months, and who either owned at least £20 of freehold or leasehold property or had an annual income of at least £120.[3] For Indo-Fijians, eligibility was also restricted to men aged 21 or over. They had to be a British subject or from British India, have lived continuously in the Fiji for at least two years, be able to read or write in English, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Urdu, and for the previous six months, have either owned property with an annual value of five years, had a net annual cash income of at least £75, or held a Government or municipal licence worth at least £5 annually.[3]
Special provision for overseas voting was set up for Fijian civil servants and military personnel serving outside the territory.[4]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European members | |||||
| Eastern | Harold Brockett Gibson | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Northern and Western | Hugh Ragg | 221 | Re-elected | |
| John Percy Bayly | 195 | ||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Southern | Amie Ragg | 451 | Elected | |
| Alport Barker | 265 | Unseated | |||
| Indo-Fijian members | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Eastern | B. M. Gyaneshwar | 399 | Elected | |
| J. B. Tularam | 201 | Unseated | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Northern and Western | A. D. Patel | 1,841 | Elected | |
| B. D. Lakshman | 554 | Unseated | |||
| Southern | Vishnu Deo | align=center colspan=2 | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
| align=left colspan=5 | Source: Fiji Elections | ||||
| Europeans | |
|---|---|
| Jasper Garnett | |
| William Granger Johnson | |
| Fijians | |
| Edward Cakobau | |
| Lala Sukuna | |
| George Toganivalu | |
| George Tuisawau | |
| Tiale Vuiyasawa | |
| Indo-Fijians | |
| A. R. Sahu Khan | |
| K. B. Singh | |
| Source: Pacific Islands Monthly |