1910 Surinamese general election

Partial general elections were held in Suriname on 21 February 1910 to elect five of the thirteen members of the Colonial States. ^[1] However, there were only five candidates, who were elected unopposed.

Electoral system

The elections were held using the two-round system, with suffrage restricted to men meeting certain criteria. Voters had multiple votes, and any candidate receiving a number of votes equivalent to over 50% of the valid ballots cast was elected in the first round. If not all seats were filled, a second round was held.

Candidates were elected for a six-year term with staggered elections every two years and the 1910 elections were for the five members elected in the 1904 elections. Of those five Isaac da Costa , Daniel Coutinho, Jacobus Arnoldus Dragten  [ nl ] were still in office and ran for re-election.

Charles Ferdinand Schoch  [ nl ] had resigned in 1905 and been replaced by Karel Hendrik Bergen  [ nl ], who died shortly afterwards and was replaced by John Robert Thomson  [ nl ]. François Wijnand Hensen  [ nl ] died in 1907 and was replaced by Raimond Nazaire Guillaume Marie Bär von Hemmersweil  [ nl ]. He resigned in 1908 and was replaced by Franciscus Smith  [ nl ]. Both Thomson and Smith ran for re-election.

Results

As the five incumbents were the only candidates, they were declared elected unopposed. ^[2]

Aftermath

Coutinho resigned shortly the election due to health issues. He was replaced by Adolf Curiel  [ nl ], who won a by-election in June.

6–20 June 1910 by-election

Candidate	Votes	%
Adolf Curiel  [ nl ]	227	55.10
J.M. da Costa	185	44.90
Total	412	100.00
Valid votes	412	96.04
Invalid/blank votes	17	3.96
Total votes	429	100.00
Source: Nieuwe Surinaamsche courant [3]

References

1. "Kol Staten-leden". De Surinamer. 24 February 1910.
2. "Verkiezing". Suriname. 22 February 1910.
3. "Nabetrachting". Nieuwe Surinaamsche courant. 23 June 1910.