ID 0263

Commonwealth Parliament, House of Representatives election

Election of 16 December 1922

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General election for the House of Representatives
Commonwealth of Australia
Date of election
16 December 1922

Government in office and parliamentary support before and after the election

Government in office at election

Prime Minister in office at date of election. (check notes to see if change of Prime Minister since previous election)
William Morris Hughes
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Nationalist Party
House of Representatives support for government at election
Minority
If coalition, coalition partner(s)

Government in office after election

Prime Minister in office after election.
Stanley Melbourne Bruce
Prime Minister's party affiliation
Nationalist Party
House of Representatives support for government after election
Coalition
If coalition, coalition partner(s)
Country Party

Enrolment and voting

Total number of voters on the roll
2,980,424
Number of House of Representatives seats
75
Number of uncontested seats
5
If uncontested seats, number of voters on the roll in uncontested seats
206,150
Number of voters on the roll in contested seats
2,774,274
Total ballots cast (may differ from number of votes in multiple voting systems)
1,646,863
Turnout (rate of voting in contested seats)
59.36%
Total valid votes
1,572,514
Rate of informal (invalid) voting
4.51%
Informal (invalid) ballots in multiple voting system
Not applicable
Electoral system
Adult franchise at 21 years; single member districts; preferential voting (AV); compulsory preferences

House of Representatives votes and seats won, national summary

Display Chart

Election held on 16 December 1922
Criteria for the inclusion of parties in this table are set out in the Glossary under 'listed party'

* to view table drag left or right.
Party Name First preference vote n First preference vote share % Change from previous election % Seats won n Uncontested seats held n Seat share %
Australian Labor Party  665,145  42.30  -0.19  29  1  38.67 
Nationalist Party (Nationalists)  553,920  35.23  -9.85  26  2  34.67 
Country Party   197,513  12.56  +3.30  14  1  18.67 
Liberal Party (SA, Vic)  73,939  4.70  *  5  1  6.67 
Independents  71,674  4.56  +3.09  1  0  1.33 
Votes for other than listed parties 10,323 0.66 +0.66       
Totals 1,572,514  100.00    75  5  100.00 

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* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.

Notes

Government after election: In spite of lengthy negotiations, Hughes was unable to gain the support of the Country Party to form a coalition government after the election. Hughes resigned in favour of Bruce who became prime minister of a Nationalist Party and Country Party coalition government on 9 February 1923. For details, see the references below.

Sources

Colin A Hughes and B D Graham, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890-1964, Canberra; Australian National University Press, 1968 (SBN 708102700).

For information on the change of prime minister after the election, see Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, Frenchs Forrest, NSW: New Holland Publishers, 2000 (ISBN 1 86436 6710), pp 121 and 130; Geoffrey Sawer, Australian Federal Politics and Law 1901-1929, Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1956 (ISBN 0 522 84033 7), p.225.


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