General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 29 September 1944.[1]
The eight elected members of the Legislative Council were elected from eight single-member constituencies.[2] There were a total of 6,527 registered voters.[2]
| Constituency | Settlements | Registered voters | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broken Hill | Broken Hill, Mkushi, Serenje | 950 | |
| Balovale, Kalabo, Livingstone, Mankoya, Mongu–Lealui, Senanga, Sesheke | 469 | ||
| Luanshya | Luanshya, Mufulira | 1,497 | |
| Midland | Broken Hill (South), Lusaka, Mumbwa | 648 | |
| Ndola | Fort Rosebery, Kasempa, Kawambwa, Mwinilunga, Ndola | 656 | |
| Nkana | Chingola, Nkana | 1,771 | |
| North-Eastern | 270 | ||
| Southern | Mazabuka, Namwala | 266 | |
| Source: Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia | |||
All constituencies were contested by more than one candidate with the exception of Broken Hill, where Labour Party leader Roy Welensky was returned unopposed.[3]
The incumbent members for Livingstone and Western (Francis Sinclair), Luanshya (Michael McGann) and Nkana (Martin Visagie) did not run for re-election.[3]
| Constituency | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broken Hill | Roy Welensky | Labour Party | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| Hedley Priest | Labour Party | 223 | 69.91 | Elected | ||
| Robert Hood Orr | Independent Labour | 96 | 30.09 | |||
| Luanshya | James Morris | Independent | 406 | 50.50 | Elected | |
| Francis Edward John Patrick Murray | Labour Party | 398 | 49.50 | |||
| Midland | Hugh Kennedy McKee | Independent | 212 | 40.85 | Re-elected | |
| Marais von Eeden | Independent | 183 | 35.26 | |||
| Edwin Bernard Evans | Labour Party | 124 | 23.89 | |||
| Ndola | Godfrey Pelletier | Independent | 223 | 50.57 | Re-elected | |
| Charles Allan | Labour Party | 218 | 49.43 | |||
| Nkana | Brian Goodwin | Independent Labour | 573 | 55.96 | Elected | |
| James Knock Wykerd | Labour Party | 451 | 44.04 | |||
| North-Eastern | Thomas Spurgeon Page | 94 | 51.93 | Re-elected | ||
| Grant Bruce Robertson | Independent | 87 | 48.07 | |||
| Southern | Richard Ernest Campbell | Independent | 95 | 51.35 | Re-elected | |
| John Milton Walker | 90 | 48.65 | ||||
| Source: East Africa and Rhodesia[4] | ||||||
Following the elections, a petition was sent to the Governor requesting the annulment of the result in Ndola. An enquiry by the Acting Chief Justice found that seven ballots had been improperly rejected, meaning that the result would have been a tie.[5] A by-election was held on 4 December,[6] in which the original winner Godfrey Pelletier opted not to run.[7] Harold Williams was elected in his place.[8]