The 1955 Tasmanian state election was held on 19 February 1955 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation systemHouse of Assembly Elections , Parliament of Tasmania. — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

The incumbent Labor government, led by Robert Cosgrove, had been in office continuously since 1934, although had not held a majority since 1946. It was looking to win another term in minority government against the opposition Liberal Party, on this occasion led by Rex Townley.

The election resulted in a parliamentary deadlock, with both the Labor and Liberal parties winning 15 seats in the 30 seat assembly.

The 1955 election also saw the first women elected to the House of Assembly: Mabel Miller for Franklin and Amelia Best for Wilmot, both members of the Liberal Party.Tasmanian Parliamentary History - FAQ , Parliament of Tasmania.

Background and deadlock provisions The 1955 election was the first to be held since the passage of a 1954 amendment to the constitution in relation to political deadlocks. The amendment provided that, in the event of a deadlock in the 30-member House of Assembly, an Electoral Commission would be convened to determine a "majority party" and "minority party" on the basis of primary votes. The minority party would then have the right to nominate a member as Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, thereby giving the majority party a working majority of one MP. If the minority party did not nominate a speaker, the majority party would be entitled to nominate one of its own members as speaker and also to be awarded a supplementary member of parliament, again giving the majority party a working majority on the speaker's casting vote.

Results

Distribution of votes Primary vote by division Bass Braddon Denison Franklin Wilmot Labor Party 53.5% 53.3% 50.8% 49.9% 55.7% Liberal Party 46.0% 46.7% 42.5% 46.5% 44.3% Other 0.5% — 6.7% 3.5% —

Distribution of seats

Electorate Seats won Bass             Darwin             Denison             Franklin             Wilmot            

  Labor   Liberal

See also Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1955–1956 Candidates of the 1955 Tasmanian state election

References

External links Assembly Election Results, 1955 , Parliament of Tasmania. Report on Parliamentary Elections, 1955, Tasmanian Electoral Commission.