Northern Rhodesian general election, 1959

General elections were held in Northern Rhodesia on 20 March 1959, although voting did not take place in two constituencies until 9 April. The United Federal Party (UFP) was expected to win the elections, and did so by taking 13 of the 22 elected seats on the Legislative Council.

The elections were the first held under the Lennox-Boyd constitution. It provided for a 30 member Legislative Council with 22 elected members, six official members and two appointed members. The 22 elected seats were divided into 12 "ordinary" seats with mostly European voters, six "special" seats mainly reserved for African voters, two reserved for African candidates and two reserved for European candidates. "Ordinary" voters had to have at least four years of secondary education and either an income of at least £300 a year or own property worth £500. They could also qualify by having primary education and earning at least £480 a year or owning £1,000 of property, or for those not meeting the educational requirements, have an annual income of at least £720 or own over £1,500 of property. Certain people were automatically entitled to register as "ordinary voters", including ministers of religion, chiefs recognised by the Governor and wives of anyone qualified as an "ordinary" voter (although in the case of polygamous marriages, only the senior wife qualified). "Special" voters had to have at least two years of secondary education and an income of at least £120 a year, or have an income of at least £150 or own property worth £500 or more. Automatic qualification as a "special" voter was given to pensioners receiving a monthly or annual pension for at least 20 years' service for one employer, headmen or herediary councillors with at least two years of unpaid service and who were recognised by their chief, or be the wife (or senior wife) of any qualified "special" voter. All voters had to be over 21, able to complete their registration form in English and have lived in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland for at two years and in their constituency for three months.

The African reserved seats were created by combining several ordinary seats, whilst the European reserved seats were based on combinations of the special seats. Every voter had two votes, one for their special or ordinary constituency member, and one for their reserved member. In the ordinary and European reserved seats, special votes were not allowed to account for more than a third of the total.

A total of 30,234 people were registered to vote, up from 15,505 for the 1954 elections. Of the 23,388 "ordinary" voters, 20,546 were Europeans, 2,046 Indians and 796 Africans. The 6,846 special voters included 6,821 Africans, 20 Europeans and five Indians.

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