1913 Australian federal election

1913 Australian federal election

← 1910 31 May 1913 (1913-05-31) 1914 →

All 75 seats in the House of Representatives
38 seats were needed for a majority in the House
18 (of the 36) seats in the Senate
Registered2,760,216 Increase22.22%
Turnout1,955,723 (73.49%)[a]
(Increase10.69 pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Joseph Cook Andrew Fisher
Party Liberal Labor
Leader since 20 January 1913 30 October 1907
Leader's seat Parramatta (NSW) Wide Bay (Qld)
Last election 31 seats 42 seats
Seats won 38 seats 37 seats
Seat change Increase7 Decrease5
Popular vote 930,076 921,099
Percentage 48.94% 48.47%
Swing Increase3.85% Decrease1.50%

Results by division for the House of Representatives, shaded by winning party's margin of victory.

Prime Minister before election

Andrew Fisher
Labor

Subsequent Prime Minister

Joseph Cook
Commonwealth Liberal

The 1913 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 31 May 1913. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, was defeated by the opposition Commonwealth Liberal Party under Joseph Cook, marking the second time an Australian Prime Minister was defeated at an election. The new government had a majority of just a single seat, and held a minority of seats in the Senate.[1] It would last only 15 months, suffering defeat at the 1914 election.

The 1913 election was held in conjunction with six referendum questions, none of which were carried. According to David Day, Andrew Fisher's biographer, "it was probably the timing of the referenda that was most responsible for the disappointing election result" for the Labor Party.[2]


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  1. ^ Senate results, 1913 election
  2. ^ David Day (2008). Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia. Fourth Estate. p. 279.