Selwyn by-election, 1884

Selwyn by-election, 1884

15 February 1884 (1884-02-15)
Turnout	795
120x120px 120x120px Candidate Edward Wakefield John McLachlan Party Independent Independent Popular vote 479 316 Percentage 60.25% 39.75%
MP before election Edward Lee Independent Elected MP Edward Wakefield Independent

The Selwyn by-election of 1884 was a by-election held on 15 February 1884 during the 8th New Zealand Parliament in the rural Canterbury electorate of Selwyn.

The by-election was caused by the death, on 18 December 1883, of the previous MP Edward Lee, who had won the previous by-election in April 1883.

The by-election was contested by John McLachlan and Edward Wakefield, the latter winning the show of hands at the nomination meeting. The election was won by Wakefield, with 479 votes to 316.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Selwyn by-election, 1884

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Edward Wakefield	479	60.25
	Independent	John McLachlan	316	39.75
Majority			163	20.50
Turnout			795		+177

McLachland won the polling booth at Leeston by one vote, but Wakefield won the other booths at Brookside, Southbridge and Dunsandel. At the 1884 general election on 22 July, Wakefield was returned unopposed in Selwyn.