NORTH DUNEDIN SEAT

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27191, 7 November 1953, Page 6

NORTH DUNEDIN SEAT

By-Election Likely Next Month

LABOUR MAJORITY OF 307 IN 1951 (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, November 6. The general opinion in political circles is that little time will be wasted in holding a by-election in North Dunedin to fill the vacancy in the House of Representatives caused by the death today of the sitting Opposition member, Mr R. Walls. Saturday, December 12. is being suggested as the most likely polling day. The poll will be taken on the existing electoral boundaries, as the revised boundaries, as fixed by the Electoral Commission, will not become effective until the General Election late next year. Both the main political parties already are evincing intense interest fn the pending by-election, as the seat is a marginal one. The majority for Mr Walls at the last General Election in 1951 was 307 votes. Because this will be only the second by-election since the present Government assumed office in 1949. it is being treated as the first real test of political strength since the snap election in 1951. The leaders of both parties will concentrate on a brief but intensive campaign, and as soon as the present session of the House ends on November 27 prominent speakers from both sides of the House are expected to visit Dunedin. Traditional Labour Seat

Traditionally a Labour seat North Dunedin provided a majority of 1270 votes for Mr Walls in 1946. This majority was reduced to 668 in 1949, and to 307 in 1951. , Unless the by-election is held fairly early in Decemoer, the Royal tour might result in its postponement until February. However, this would require amending legislation, and a December poll is strongly indicated. The pending by-election will cause both political parties to expedite their selection of candidates. Mr Walls had been ill for some time and had signified his intention not to seek re-election. It is understood that seven Labour candidates, including several successful Labour candidates at the poll for the Dunedin City Council on Saturday, had been nominated for the candidacy in North Dunedin when the Labour Party nominations closed on August 31. No selection of a Labour candidate has been made, because a selection committee from the party headquarters has yet to visit the South Island.

The National Party has not yet called for nominations for North Dunedin, but it will do so soon. If the poll is held on December 12. it will permit leading members of both sides to campaign for a fortnight in North Dunedin.

Electoral Provisions Provisions covering vacancies in the House of Representatives caused by the deaths of members during a session are set out in the Electoral Act, 1927. A formal notification by telegram o! the death of ,a sitting. member is first sent by the local registrar of deaths tc the Speaker of the House of Representativer When this notification is read to U. ° House by the Speaker—probably next Tuesday in the present caS e—the House must next pass a motion ordering the Speaker forthwith to issue a warrant to the Clerk of the Writs, directing him to issue a writ to supply the vacancy. This motion usually is moved by the Prime Minister. It is not encumbent on the Pyime Minister to move the motion immediately, but under the existing circumstances it is thought likely that there will be little, if any, delay. On receipt of the warrant from the Speaker, the Clerk of the Writs is nailed upon to issue a writ to the returning officer within three days. This writ fixes the polling day. Candidates must be nominated not less than 10 i days nor more than 17 days before the ouy named for polling. The first by-election in the present Government’s term of office was in 1950. when Mr A. H. Nordmeyer won the Brooklyn seat, made vacant by the death of Mr Peter Fraser. Leader of the Opposition.