British Guiana general election, 1961

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General elections were held in British Guiana on 21 August 1961. [1] The result was a victory for the People's Progressive Party, which won 20 of the 35 seats.

British Guiana British posession in the Guianas region between 1814–1966

British Guiana was the name of the British colony, part of the British West Indies (Caribbean), on the northern coast of South America, now known as the independent nation of Guyana.

Peoples Progressive Party (Guyana)

The People's Progressive Party is a left-wing political party in Guyana. The party currently holds 32 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly, and has been the ruling party on several occasions, most recently between 1992 and 2015. In Guyana's ethnically divided political landscape, the PPP regards itself as a multi-ethnic organisation, but is supported primarily by Indo-Guyanese people.

Contents

Electoral system

The elections were the first to be held under the 1961 constitution, which had created a bicameral Legislature with an appointed Senate and an elected Legislative Assembly. The 36 members of the Legislative Assembly included 35 members elected in single-member constituencies and the Speaker, who was elected by the other members. [2] The 13 members of the Senate included eight nominated by the ruling party, three by the opposition and two by the Governor.

Legislature (British Guiana)

The Legislature was the parliament of British Guiana between 1961 and 1964. A bicameral body, it consisted of an appointed Senate and an elected Legislative Assembly.

Senate (British Guiana) Upper house of British Guiana

The Senate was the upper house of the Legislature in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964.

Legislative Assembly (British Guiana)

The Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Legislature in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964.

Campaign

A total of 98 candidates contested the elections. The PPP ran 29 candidates, the People's National Congress 35 and the United Force 34. [3]

Peoples National Congress (Guyana) political party

The People's National Congress - Reform is a socialist political party in Guyana led by David A. Granger. The party currently holds 22 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. In Guyana's ethnically divided political landscape, the PNCR is supported primarily by Afro-Guyanese people.

The United Force is a conservative and economically liberal political party in Guyana. It currently has no representation in the National Assembly and is led by Manzoor Nadir.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's Progressive Party 93,08542.6320+11
People's National Congress 89,50140.9911+7
United Force 35,77116.384New
Invalid/blank votes1,768–––
Total220,12510035+21
Registered voters/turnout246,12089.44––
Source: GECOM

Following the election, the People's National Congress (PNC) were allocated two of the Senate seats reserved for the opposition, with one given to the United Force. The PNC claimed they should have been given all three seats, and its members attempted to block Governor Richard Luyt from entering the Legislature for its ceremonial opening on 6 October, requiring the police to remove them. [4]

Sir Richard Edmonds Luyt was the colonial Governor of British Guiana in 1964-66. He installed Forbes Burnham of the People's National Congress (PNC) as premier of a coalition government with a small business-oriented conservative party in 1964; however, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) came first in the election. Deadly riots ensued when the PPP was not allowed to form the government. Upon independence in May 1966, Sir Richard was sworn in as Governor-General of Guyana, a position which he held until December the same year.

Aftermath

Although the PPP had only received 1.6% more of the vote than the new People's National Congress, it had won almost double the number of seats. This resulted in mass demonstrations led by the PNC, a general strike and severe inter-racial violence. After a few weeks the British authorities intervened by sending in troops and the Governor declared a state of emergency. [1] Following these events, the country's electoral system was changed to use proportional representation. The first elections held under the new system took place in 1964. [1]

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. If n% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result - not just a plurality, or a bare majority. The most prevalent forms of proportional representation all require the use of multiple-member voting districts, as it is not possible to fill a single seat in a proportional manner. In fact, the implementations of PR that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to include districts with large numbers of seats.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p355 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ↑ Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006 Parliament of Guyana
  3. ↑ 1961 Elections GECOM
  4. ↑ Brewing anti-PPP challenges in 1961 Guyana.org
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