1913 Tasmanian state election

1913 Tasmanian state election
All 30 seats to the House of Assembly
	Results of the election
Premier before election; Albert Solomon; Liberal	Elected Premier ; Albert Solomon; Liberal

The 1913 Tasmanian state election was held on Thursday, 23 January 1913 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 30 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system^[1] — six members were elected from each of five electorates.

The 1913 election was called less than a year after the 1912 election. Following the 1912 election, the Liberal League held only a small majority in the House of Assembly, and Premier Albert Solomon was dependent on the support of Norman Cameron. In addition, Solomon was under threat from the same CLP unrest that had unseated his predecessor, Elliott Lewis. Labor sought to capitalise on Solomon's tenuous grasp on government, and moved a series of no-confidence motions against him, including a censure motion over the Mount Lyell disaster.

In an attempt to secure his position, Solomon requested and received from the Governor of Tasmania an early dissolution of the House of Assembly, and an early election.^[2] The result was the same as had been in the outgoing House of Assembly, except that Cameron lost his seat to another Liberal.

Solomon's advantage, however, was short-lived. The Liberals lost a seat in a by-election, and Joshua Whitsitt's behaviour was becoming erratic. Solomon lost a no-confidence motion in April 1914, and the Governor denied his request for another dissolution, calling upon John Earle to form a Labor government.^[2]

Results



Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Liberal	36,157	52.58	1.90	16	1
	Labor	31,633	46.00	0.48	14
	Independents	977	1.42	1.42	0	1
Total		68,767	100.00	–	30	–

Valid votes		68,767	97.13
Invalid/blank votes		2,035	2.87	0.02
Total votes		70,802	100.00	–
Registered voters/turnout		105,292	67.24	6.23

Popular vote

Liberal			52.58%
Labor			46.00%
Independents			1.42%

Seats

Liberal			53.33%
Labor			46.67%

Distribution of votes

Primary vote by division

	Bass	Darwin	Denison	Franklin	Wilmot
Labor Party	50.3%	51.1%	48.0%	43.8%	36.2%
Commonwealth Liberal	49.7%	48.9%	52.0%	56.2%	55.8%
Other	–	–	–	–	8.0%

Distribution of seats

Electorate	Seats won
Bass
Darwin
Denison
Franklin
Wilmot

	Labor
	Liberal

References

^ House of Assembly Elections, Parliament of Tasmania.
^ ^a ^b Scott Bennett, Solomon, Albert Edgar (1876 - 1914), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 11.

External links

Assembly Election Results, 1913, Parliament of Tasmania.
Report on General Election, 1913, Tasmanian Electoral Commission, 8 July 1913.

[1] House of Assembly Elections, Parliament of Tasmania.

[solomon-2] Scott Bennett, Solomon, Albert Edgar (1876 - 1914), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 11.

[1]

[2]