1945 New Caledonian legislative election
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Legislative elections were held in New Caledonia in January 1945. The first round of voting was held on 7 January and the second round on 24 January.[1]
The General Council elected in 1940 was dissolved when the territory was taken over by the Free French,[2] and Governor Henri Sautot subsequently created a 12-member nominated Administrative Council.[3] Sautot's successor Henri Montchamp proposed a new 15-seat council, and elections were scheduled for 21 March 1943, before being postponed until 30 May.[2] However, French leader Charles de Gaulle subsequently postponed them again, claiming that wartime elections were inadmissible.[4] The Governor then suggested that the existing council members could be retained, alongside ten more appointed members.[4]
In early 1944, the French administration promised fresh elections and voter rolls began to be drawn up.[5] However, they were subsequently postponed once more.[6] Later in the year a decree re-established a 15-member General Council and dissolved the Administrative Council.[3]
Electoral system
Members were elected using the two-round system. Although women had recently been enfranchised in France, the lack of time to prepare a new voter roll meant that female suffrage was not introduced for the 1945 elections in New Caledonia. Despite not being able to vote, women were allowed to run as candidates, and two were nominated by the Social Progress bloc.[1]
