South Australian state election, 1902

← 1899

3 May 1902 (1902-05-03)

1905 →

All 42 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly
22 seats were needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	John Jenkins	John Darling Jr.	Thomas Price
Party	Liberal	Conservative	Labor
Leader since	15 May 1901	1902	1899
Leader's seat	Torrens	Torrens	Torrens
Last election	-	11 seats	11 seats
Seats won	-	17 seats	5 seats
Seat change	-	6	6
Percentage	-	24.3%	19.9%
Swing	-	5.9	5.5

Premier before election

John Jenkins
Liberal

Elected Premier

John Jenkins
Liberal

State elections were held in South Australia on 3 May 1902. All 42 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The House had a reduction of 12 seats compared to the previous election. The incumbent liberal government led by Premier of South Australia John Jenkins in an informal coalition with the conservatives defeated the United Labor Party (ULP) led by Thomas Price. Each of the 13 districts elected multiple members, with voters casting multiple votes.

Following the 1899 election, Kingston tried again for franchise reform. The Assembly voted against the measure and Kingston resigned his ministry. He was replaced by Vaiben Louis Solomon for a brief period of seven days, when Frederick Holder formed a government which, for the first time, included a ULP member, Lee Batchelor.

The parliament was transformed by the impact of federation. Seven leading members of the Assembly resigned and were elected to the Parliament of Australia. As a result, there were 11 by-elections in this period. The Assembly was reduced in numbers, from 54 to 42. A redistribution was carried out following these changes, to produce a chamber elected from 13 districts - one 5-member, two four-member, nine 3-member and one 2-member electorates. The election was a "new start" for the parliament.

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