Legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 6 October 1957. [1] The result was a victory for the Caledonian Union, which won 18 of the 30 seats.
Prior to the elections the 25-seat General Council was replaced by a 30-seat Territorial Assembly. The new body was elected by open list proportional representation. [2]
The elections were held under universal suffrage, with around 33,600 registered voters, [1] of which 18,964 were Kanaks and 13,406 Europeans. [3]
A total of 123 candidates contested the 30 seats, representing eight parties. [1] The campaign started on 16 September, [4] and was reported by Pacific Islands Monthly to have been "mild, with hardly an unkind word exchanged". [1]
Of the 30 elected members, 17 were Europeans and 13 Kanaks. [1]
Party | Seats | |
---|---|---|
Caledonian Union | 18 | |
National Centre of Social Republicans | 7 | |
Lafleur Party | 3 | |
Group of Caledonian Peasants | 1 | |
Rally of Caledonian Workers | 1 | |
Total | 30 | |
Source: Pacific Islands Monthly |
An eight-member cabinet was elected by the Territorial Assembly in late October. All eight ministers were from the Caledonian Union. [5]