Roy Welensky - Prime Minister - Territorial and Federal Elections

Territorial and Federal Elections

With new constitutions in place for the territories, elections were held throughout 1961–62, with Welensky's UFP being beaten in each one. In Nyasaland, the African nationalist Malawi Congress Party won a huge majority and Banda set about lobbying the British Government for the breakup of the federation and the independence of Nyasaland as Malawi. In Northern Rhodesia, neither the UFP nor the two African nationalist parties held a majority, but the African nationalists united to push for independence.

Welensky hoped to get a display of confidence in federation, so he dissolved parliament in mid-1962 and held elections. While his party won a huge victory, it did so because it was completely unopposed. Neither the recently formed Rhodesian Front (RF) nor the African nationalist parties bothered to contest it.

In Southern Rhodesia, the UFP lost the hold that it and its successor parties had for decades in the October election. Ian Smith, a former federal member of the UFP, had united with Winston Field of the Dominion Party to form the Rhodesian Front, a conservative party that was opposed to a fast rate of African political advancement and the 1961 constitution, and in support of Southern Rhodesian independence. The RF won 55% of the vote and 35 A-roll seats, while the UFP won 44% of the vote, 15 A-roll seats and 14 B-roll seats. Welensky now had parties in power in all three territorial legislatures that were opposed to the federation and advocating independence for their respective territories.

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