1931 Assembly of Representatives election

Elections to the Assembly of Representatives of Mandatory Palestine were held on 5 January 1931.^[1] Mapai emerged as the largest party, winning 27 of the 71 seats.

1931 Assembly of Representatives election

← 1925 5 January 1931 1944 →

71 seats in the Assembly of Representatives

Party Leader Vote % Seats Mapai David Ben-Gurion 43.5% 27 Hatzohar Ze'ev Jabotinsky 16.3% 10 Sephardic Bloc Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit 4.7% 5 Mizrachi–Hapoel HaMizrachi Yehuda Leib Maimon 8.3% 5 General Zionists Peretz Bernstein 5.7% 5 Sephardic Revisionists Benjamin Sasson 4.3% 5 Sephardic Workers Avraham Abaas 3.3% 4 Women's Association Beba Idelson 3.8% 3 Yemenite Association Saadia Kobashi 3.1% 3 Poale Zion Ya'akov Zerubavel 1.8% 1 Borochov Workers Meir Ya'ari 1.8% 1 Hashomer Hatzair Mordechai Shanavi 1.6% 1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. President of the Jewish National Council before President of the Jewish National Council after Pinhas Rutenberg Independent Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Mapai

Electoral system

The Jewish National Council reduced the number of seats in the Assembly from 221 to 71, the same number of representatives in the ancient Great Sanhedrin. Voting was open to all naturalized Palestinian citizens who were registered as Jewish and at least 20 years old. To ensure that representation of Sephardic and Yemenite Jews would reflect their share of Palestine's Jewish population, the National Council agreed to a provision guaranteeing 17 seats to Sephardic and Yemenite candidates, irrespective of their placement on their respective parties' lists.^[2] As a result, voter choice was limited by ethnic group; Ashkenazi Jews could only vote for Ashkenazi lists, whilst Sephardic Jews and Yemenite Jews were similarly constrained.^[1]

Campaign

A total of 18 lists contested the elections,^[1] which were boycotted by Agudat Yisrael in protest at women being allowed to vote and the Yishuv's approach to religious education and ritual slaughter.^[1]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Mapai	21,497	43.45	27
	Revisionists	8,069	16.31	10
	Mizrachi–Hapoel HaMizrachi	4,107	8.30	5
	General Zionists	2,841	5.74	5
	Sephardic Bloc	2,301	4.65	6
	Sephardic Revisionists	2,121	4.29	5
	Women's Association	1,861	3.76	3
	Sephardic Workers	1,653	3.34	4
	Yemenites	1,515	3.06	3
	Poale Zion	902	1.82	1
	Borochov Workers	891	1.80	1
	Hashomer Hatzair	812	1.64	1
	Proletarian List	524	1.06	0
	Artisans Group	352	0.71	0
	Sephardic Poale Zion	28	0.06	0
	Sephardic Borochov Workers	1	0.00	0
	Middle Class Association	0	0.00	0
	Hitahdut HaIkarim	0	0.00	0
Total		49,475	100.00	71
Valid votes		49,475	98.09
Invalid/blank votes		961	1.91
Total votes		50,436	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		75,046	67.21
Source: UNISPAL

Aftermath

Following the elections, the Assembly elected the 23-member Jewish National Council, with eleven elected from Mapai, four from the Sephardim Bloc, three from Mizrachi, three from the General Zionists and two from smaller parties.^[1] The Revisionists refused to join the Council on the basis that the Assembly had refused to pass three resolutions it presented on not taking part in the Legislative Council, overturning the decision of the Jewish Agency to take part in a round table conference or to not send members to negotiate with the British government.^[1]

References

1. Report by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of Palestine and Trans-Jordan for the Year 1930 UNISPAL
2. Ancient Sanhedrin Paralleled by Palestine Jewish Assembly Jewish Telegraph Agency, 30 December 1930