1950 Western Australian state election

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 25 March 1950 to elect all 50 members to the Legislative Assembly. The Liberal-Country coalition government, led by Premier Ross McLarty, won a second term in office against the Labor Party, led by Opposition Leader Frank Wise.

1950 Western Australian state election

25 March 1950
All 50 seats in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 26 Assembly seats were needed for a majority
Leader Ross McLarty Frank Wise Party Liberal/Country coalition Labor Leader since 14 December 1946 31 July 1945 Leader's seat Murray-Wellington Gascoyne Last election 25 seats 23 seats Seats won 24 seats 23 seats Seat change 1 0 Percentage 49.39% 41.85%
Premier before election Ross McLarty Liberal/Country coalition Resulting Premier Ross McLarty Liberal/Country coalition

The election took place after a major redistribution.

Key dates

Date	Event
8 February 1950	Writs were issued by the Governor to proceed with an election.[1]
17 February 1950	Close of nominations in the North West area.
3 March 1950	Close of nominations in all other areas.
25 March 1950	Polling day, between the hours of 8am and 6pm.
6 April 1950	The McLarty–Watts Ministry was reconstituted.[2]
14 April 1950	The writ was returned and the results formally declared.

Results

Western Australian state election, 25 March 1950 Legislative Assembly << 1947–1953 >>
Enrolled voters		247,589^[1]
Votes cast		229,298		Turnout	92.61%	+6.70%
Informal votes		4,534		Informal	1.98%	–0.07%
Summary of votes by party
Party		Primary votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor	94,055	41.85%		23	± 0
	Liberal and Country	90,089	40.08%		15	+ 2
	Country	20,922	9.31%		9	– 3
	Ind. Lib.	5,059	2.25%		2	+ 1
	Communist	815	0.36%		0	± 0
	Independent	13,824	6.15%		1	± 0
Total		224,764			50

¹ 306,099 electors were enrolled to vote at the election, but 12 seats (24% of the total) were uncontested—6 Labor seats (9 less than 1947) representing 26,694 enrolled voters, 2 Liberal seats (the same as 1947) representing 13,278 enrolled voters, and 4 Country seats (two more than 1947) representing 18,538 enrolled voters. This change in distribution means that comparisons in vote percentages between 1947 and 1950 are largely meaningless; they have hence been omitted from the table.

See also

• Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1947–1950
• Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, 1950–1953

References

1. "The Electoral Act, 1907–1949. Legislative Assembly General Elections, 1950". Western Australia Government Gazette. 8 February 1950. p. 1950:243.
2. "Premier's Department". Western Australia Government Gazette. 6 April 1950. p. 1950:845.