 Following amendments to the territory's electoral law approved in the first reading by the French Parliament in late 1951, the number of members of the General Council was increased to 25, 16 of which were to be elected by Europeans and nine by Kanaks.At the time, the voter roll included around 10,000 European voters and around 8,000 Kanak voters who met educational requirements to register to vote.However, on the second reading of the bill, the proposed amendments were rejected by 356–256 in the National Assembly following a campaign by the territory's MP Maurice Lenormand, who demanded a common electoral roll.